Immortal Instincts
by Anime-Ronin
Summary: Renamed Buffy, Highlander, and Kindred The Masquerade: Redemption oh my!
1. Default Chapter

Immortal Instincts, Kindred Spirits

Author: Anime Ronin

Rating: R

Summary: Season 2 ends with the wrong vampire getting their soul back and a Scooby never being allowed to know peace ever again.

Disclaimer: Yeah, I own these … in my dreams (please note my use of sarcasm on the first part, please)

Beta: Yoraththewolf (thanks)

AN: Bunnies, Bunnies everywhere, and not a machine gun loaded with explosive ammo in sight – help me, please! I don't care if it's .223 or .50 cal – something to drive these bunnies away! (Sorry, off my meds for a moment – back on them)

AN2: (returning grip to sanity – barely) May have a ship between a lust-worthy Immortal and our favorite Zeppo – may not (my muse isn't sure – she's off her meds).

AN3: Kindred stuff in from PC game, Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption – gets a little murky at times, and I promise to explain when I can. The Buffy stuff is basically canon up to this point, except for the fact that Jenny is still alive – no other unexpected changes until start of story.

1? –Stoking the fires of Immortality

Even as her childe drew her away from the fight between the naughty Slayer and her daddy, Dru felt a presence in her mind and immediately it silenced both the stars and Miss Edith – she dropped to the ground, clutching her head in agony even as her Spike continued to try and drag her along, but she was in no condition to do anything as memories and feelings assaulted her mind, as shattered as it was, and it began to mend. Murder upon murder, sin upon sin, night upon night began to boil over in her mind and, for the first time in over a century and a half, Drusilla 'The Mad' began to weep true tears of regret as her conscience, her soul, once again made its presence known.

"Ducks, now ain't the time for you to go all to pieces! The Slayer gave us a chance, and we're taking it." She looked up at her childe, her Spike, as he tried to drag her away, but she silenced him with a sad smile and crooked a finger at him.

"William, I have much to tell you – God rebukes our kind, damns us to hell over a choice to become one with the night." She reached up and stroked his cheek, his face suddenly bewildered as she reached her other hand back into the folds of her dress, "But when our bodies are dust, he welcomes us home to his loving arms."

"What're ya saying, sweets?"

A single blood tear coursed down her cheek this time as she withdrew her hand from her dress, clutching a wooden stake, "It's time to go home, William." With that, she thrust the stake into her childe's withered, blackened, un-beating heart and for a second he gaped at her, but he then exploded into dust, letting her fall to the floor, "I am sorry, William. Go with God."

Over the next few minutes she collects herself, her mind quickly dealing with the massive amounts of guilt and heartache she was feeling by putting it off until later, when she can deal with them on another level, but this time allows her to watch her sire and his lover, the Slayer, fight their deadly fight as the portal of the demon begins to open – she wasn't sure how she knew what was to happen, but in her heart of hearts she knew the Slayer would do the right thing even as Angelus was stabbed through the gut and positioned in front of the portal. Dru drew herself up and quickly fled the scene as the portal flashed closed, Angelus having been sent to hell, but she did not flee the city – she remembered a crime that she and her sire had committed in the absence of her childe, one against a soul that should never have been touched by evil as it had been, a soul that was centuries out of date, that of a Knight, a White Knight … and she had helped kill him over the many, many hours. They had taken him the night that she had killed the no-fun Slayer and his screams had filled the halls of the mansion for hours, but not before just as many hours of his silence – her Kitten, Alexander, had been resolute in his silence, taking spikes of iron, wood, even hot pokers and knives into his body without so much as a grunt or a scream, but when Angelus had started to peel away his skin, her Kitten began to scream the scream of the defiant.

"Such awful, wonderful screams," she giggled, her grief and suffering returning to madness for a moment, but that moment passed and she was rushing back to where she and Spike had once hidden. She had left many things there, one of them a book that held many nice pictures and funny words, words that she could not understand then, but now she knew they were the path to her potential Redemption – they were old tomes that held the knowledge and teachings of an ancient breed of Vampire, one that dated back to the days of the first families on Earth. She packed her things, leaving nothing to chance, and with her bag filled, she went not to the bus station, but rather to the hospital – she had someone to see.

(Later)

She watched as the men left his body alone in the big, cold room, and she marveled at the way he had already recovered – her Alexander had always been a fast healer, even when he was a child and his nasty father had beaten him about the head, but he had also held within him the power of Eternity, the keys to life everlasting, and at the same time he held a curse to unending suffering, torment and combat. He would one day rise as an Immortal, an Undying One, and thanks to her, he would do so before becoming a man, the thought of which sent another blood tear down her cheek even as the lights began to flicker within the room and his eyes snapped open – her Kitten's back arched and he let out a gasping yowl of fright, which brought a sad smile to her face as she drew back from the glass and quietly left the building. He would need all of that strength for his trials ahead, and even in her heart, Drusilla knew they would meet again after this day was over, both as allies and as enemies.

(Later - SHS Library)

The sun felt warm on his back even as he sat in the middle of a large rectangle of illumination, bathed in it's gentle and life-bringing rays, burning away any thoughts of what he might have been turned into even as the Watcher whom had taken the place of his father stood back in awe of what had was seeing – Xander wasn't sure where he had been for the past day and a half, in fact the last thing he remembered was Angelus lowering his face to his neck and the piercing pain of fangs entering his flesh, but after that, there was nothing … and worst of all, there was no proof of it ever happening. In fact, there was not a single, solitary scar on his body, and boy, he'd had a really large collection of them going at the age of only 17 – most of them, admittedly, had come from fighting vampires and demons on a nightly basis for the past two years, but some of them … some of them had come from his father, many years before, and they, too, were gone the way of the dodo.

"Xander, while I must say that your story is quite fascinating, Buffy is missing! We must find her." And once again little Miss 'I can't get the job done' Slayer is more important than he was – typical.

"Sure, Giles – I'm going home. When you find her body, piss on it for me." Giles just ignored him and Xander walked out of the Library, angry more at himself for thinking that his problems would, for once, take precedence over those of the 'almighty Slayer', but again he was wrong, so he decided to head home … not knowing what he was heading for.

(Later - Harris Residence)

Chief Michael 'Harley' Davidson watched as his chief detective, Frank Stein, was put into the back of a waiting ambulance from the beating he had just incurred from the son of the decedents, Alexander Harris – Frank had, true to form, tried his hard ass routine on the kid, trying to get him to confess to the crime, but apparently Harris was having the worst day in the history of bad days and had snapped, breaking Frank's nose when the detective started to smack him around, but not stopping until four other patrol officers were forced to pull Harris off. The EMT said that Frank would be out of commission for a few days, even a week, and that from what he had seen, the kid was about two seconds from killing a cop – having spent twenty years as an Army Ranger and Green Beret before 'retiring' to the police force, Mike was forced to agree and decided to not press charges against the kid for assaulting a police officer … for now.

Anthony Harris had been split up the middle, from crotch to jaw line, and had been torn apart while Jessica Harris, mercifully, had only been shot twice in the back of the head, execution style – blood painted the entire kitchen and living room, and Harris Sr.'s internal organs were hanging from light fixtures and the backs of chairs in some kind of macabre art deco form – only the most hardened ME had been able to get the bodies and not lose his lunch. "Son? Are you okay?" It was a stupid question.

"I just found my parents fucking murdered and butchered – do you THINK I'm okay?" The total lack of emotion in Harris' voice was what scared Mike the most, and dead look in his eyes almost made him lose his bladder, "I mean, sure, I thought about killing that asshole when the PD wouldn't respond to the Domestic Disturbance calls just because it was after dark, but no, I'd never had done this … I'd have just slit his throat, not gutted him like a hog." Mike knew about the Harris household, it was a legend in the force about 'how to follow the Mayor's orders', but even now he wondered if this was one time that he should have disobeyed the boss, "Can I at least get some of my stuff?"

"Sure, kid – stay out of the crime scene areas, though." That meant that the kid would have to be Houdini to get to his stuff, but with the way he flipped from the porch to the roof, then crawling into his window, Mike could tell that he'd done this before, the sneaking in thing.

(Xander's Room)

Even as he crawled into his room via the window, Xander knew something wasn't right – things were out of place, if only slightly so, and of course there was the sword that was lying on his bed, sheathed, with a note on top of it. He walked over and, after checking for bombs, tripwires and shit, he picked up the note and opened it, carefully – inside, in flowing script, were five words, 'There Can Be Only One' and nothing else, which made him look down at the sword itself; it was a European rapier, possibly Spanish or French, with a long, slightly tapered blade, an ornate basket that protected his hand and on that basket were two symbols – one was a shield with some markings on it, flowers or something, but the other symbol, which was opposite of it, was a cross. It was old, well-used and cared for, and it was going with him, so he stashed it into the long duster that was under it. From his closet emerged an OD green duffle bag, two small carry-all bags about the size of single-ball bowling bags, a backpack full of clothes and he grabbed a few other odds and ends from his room before stopping at his night stand and picking up a key he had hidden there and looking at it – the key was non descript in nature, but it unlocked a trove of hidden goodies that he had picked up here and there, and he was going to have to make a stop there before too long.

"You ready to go, kid?" He didn't jump at the voice of the Chief even as he walked into his doorway, and picked up his bags as he did, "Lot of stuff?"

"Not as much as you'd think – just a few mementoes and some things that have … psychological meaning," Xander said casually as he picked his way down the stairs and towards the front door. "Is there any chance that the Sunnydale PD will do its job and find whoever did this?"

"Not much evidence to go on, kid – whoever did this, was a professional." He could hear the level tone in the Chief's voice that said that, yes, he did pick up on the insult towards the PD for its glorious lack of results, but yes, there would be a real investigation. "Anywhere we can drive you to?"

"That won't be necessary, sir." Xander looked up and saw Joyce standing there with Jenny just behind her, both sets of eyes wide with surprise and a few tears as the bodies were carried out of the house, "You're coming home with me, Xander." Her tone brooked no argument and, after the Chief took some contact information, Xander found himself on his way to Joyce's house.

Ten minutes later, at Joyce's house, he was surprised to see both Oz and Willow, the latter of which had apparently just been released from the hospital, as she still had her wrist band on, and Giles was already pacing in the living room – Jenny brought them up to speed on what had happened at his house as he put his things into the spare bedroom upstairs, and by the time he got back down there Willow was as pale as a sheet, Oz's eyes were sympathetic, and Giles was floored, "My God."

"And on top of that, I was left this and a cryptic note." He pulled out the rapier and handed it to Giles, who looked it over with a professional eye.

"French, circa seventeenth century – you say this was left for you with a note? What did it say?"

"'There can be only one.'" Xander arched an eyebrow as Giles gasped, dropped the sword and sat back heavily on the couch, "Are you okay?"

"No, Xander, I'm not, and I apologize for not listening to you earlier." The others looked confused even as Giles cleaned his glasses, "That message, though, may explain how you happen to be here right now, given what you claimed happened to you."

Xander's temper flared, "'Claim'? Giles, I was fucking TORTURED, and now I don't have a damned scar on me from it, only some of the scars that I had from before this." He held out his left hand, palm up, and showed Willow the exact spot that she had accidentally cut him to the bone with a kitchen knife, which had left a nasty scar for all to see.

Giles held up his hands placating manner, "I didn't mean to say that it didn't happen, Xander, but I need to make a call that may be able to confirm it." With that, he stood and walked to the kitchen and picked up the phone.

"Tortured? By whom? Why?"

He went and picked up the rapier before he looked over at Jenny, his eyes dull and his ire lessening, "It was Angelus who did it, with Drusilla's reluctant help, and to get at Buffy – he figured that I'd crack soon enough and he'd leave my body for Buffy to find, to really shake her up." Xander looked down at his hands, disturbed, "What I want to know is how Angelus was able to open Acathla – I thought only Giles knew that?"

Giles looked vaguely disturbed about it as well, "Yes, quite right, but if one were to be believed, she has access to information that nobody can account for." Xander gave him a look and Giles went on, "Remember, she was a seer before she was turned by Angelus – she could have seen it."

Joyce looked sick as she spoke up, "How long?" Xander looked at her and she asked again, "How long were you …"

He closed his eyes, the memories assaulting him, "I lost count after ten hours – I started screaming after seven." Oddly, one of the memories that came up was one of Dru gently stroking his cheek and with something akin to sympathy in her eyes even as Angelus drew a strip of skin from his leg, "Last thing I remember was Angelus feeding from me, and then I wake up in the Sunnydale Morgue – I didn't burn in the sunlight, and I have a pulse, so I'm not a vamp."

"How did you do it?" He looked up at Willow, who was openly crying now, "Seven hours ... how'd you do it?"

He smiled wanly for a second, "Remember what I told you about Solder Boy?" She nodded and he studied his hands, "He went through and passed SEER school, apparently. Well, that and my pure pig-headedness to not give the ass the satisfaction."

Joyce frowned, "Seer?"

Xander shook his head, "Almost, SEER – Survive, Escape, Evade and Resist; it's a school in the military that teaches you how to keep from becoming a POW or, if that isn't possible, how to keep from breaking for as long as possible while in captivity and to escape, if at all possible."

"But you broke." He looked up at Oz, who was frowning by then, and the werewolf went on, "Does that mean you failed?"

"No – the DI told the soldiers learning there that while under torture everyone breaks, eventually, that all they had to do was to make sure they died first or gave their captives nothing of consequence from their questions. Three guesses which I did." It felt odd, speaking about what he recalled of his 'death', but not one bit of the entire thing made any sense, so that could be considered an anomaly.

Giles took that point to walk into the room, his face ashen even as he pulled down the cuff on his left shirt sleeve, "I've confirmed it, Xander – you were brought into the Sunnydale morgue without pulse, and looking quite like someone had royally worked you over."

"And as to why I look like this? Like nothing happened?"

Giles took a breath and let it out slowly, "I'm not clear on the details myself, but I assure you that the person that is coming will be able to tell you more than I could." He took off his glasses again and rubbed his eyes, "Can you think of anyone or anything that has happened in the past week or so that is out of the ordinary, even for Sunnydale?"

"Aside from how well Joyce is taking this, no, not a thing," he looked over at Joyce and saw Jenny rubbing her upper back in small circles. "Joyce? How long have you known?"

"Buffy told me some of it before she went off to fight that … that monster, Angelus, but Jenny told me a little just before we went to see Giles, and then go and get you." She paled at a memory and fumbled for a minute before asking, "Why do you do it, Xander? I mean, Buffy is this Slayer, Willow is a witch and Oz is a werewolf, but …"

"I'm the normal one?" He gave her a mirthless smile and chuckled harshly, "I know, Buffy's browbeat me with that more often then I care to admit, but think about this for a second, Joyce – before this week, she's never had to face someone on their terms, their turf, and for them to be 100 human. If that ever came to pass, it'd come to me or Giles to do what was necessary, as your daughter isn't wired to do that kind of thing."

"You mean you'd kill them?"

He looked at Willow, who looked very sick at that point, "I'd do what you couldn't, so, yes, if that means kill them, so be it."

Giles spoke softly, "Could you? If you had to kill someone, if they challenged you or something like that, would you kill them?"

Xander thought about it for a second, closing his eyes and running every possible scenario through his mind before opening them again two seconds later, "If I had to and there was no other way around it, then yes – self-preservation and all of that."

The room was still, too still, for nearly an hour – Joyce fretted slightly as Jenny did her best to calm her, Oz held on to Willow, Giles wrote in a booklet of some kind with an odd design on the front, a circle with three leaves at 120 degrees a piece that overlapped in the middle, but Xander merely unsheathed the rapier and studied it, looking over it with a casual eye while raking his memory for anything that was out of the 'Sunnydale norm' as far as people or events – the only thing he could come up with was an occasional headache he had over the day, since he left the morgue, and that lasted only a few seconds at a time.

When the phone went off, though, they all jumped and Joyce answered it, "Hello?" There was a few seconds of silence and she blinked, looking around cautiously as she did, "Yes, one moment. Xander? It's for you."

Xander was there in a few steps, afraid it was the PD, saying they had the people responsible for his parent's murder, "Yes?"

"The old factory, midnight – come alone or all of your friends die, and I'll make sure to keep the girls alive for a few days, the same way I kept your father. I do hope you like sword I left you – it was once belonged to an enemy of mine." The voice was low, gruff and had a very distinct accent to it, French, but as soon as he finished, the phone was hung up.

Xander let the phone back into its cradle, and then snarled, "Son of a bitch."

"Who was it, Xander?"

"The guy who killed my parents – he wants to meet." Without waiting, he turned and walked up the stairs, his mind not flaming as he thought it would have been – it was cold, calculating, and completely ignored the others as they called for him to stop as he reached his room and grabbed his duffle bag, opening it and upending it.

"Xander, think for a moment – if this is the man responsible, he must surely be waiting for you!" Giles walked into the room and stopped as he looked down at the bed and what lay there, "My God – where did you get those?"

Even as he stripped off his shirt and pants, pulling on the black pants, boots, shirt and then upper body armor, Xander answered him, "Here, there and the other place – I made a return trip to the Sunnydale Armory and got the armor, clothes I picked up from some vamp who was about my size, places like that." All of the clothes fit him tightly, making not a whisper of noise as he moved and the boots he'd had especially made with soft soles to keep footsteps from leaving treads or making noise, but once those were on, he slipped on a shoulder harness and fit several magazines into it.

Jenny and Willow both pushed their way into the room, the former speaking as the latter gasped, "Xander, he's waiting for you! This must be a trap."

"Good – that means he's not expecting me to be ready for him." He tucked away two knives into his vest and then found his gun, a machine pistol he'd taken from a vamp's lair, checking it over, "He killed my father, and while I wanted to do that more than a few times, I'd have done quick, clean. He killed my mother …" His mind flared as he remembered all of the times he had taken a beating for her from his father, and visa versa, "I'll have to make him hurt for that, first."

"Xander, please, be reasonable about this." Giles took him by the shoulders and spun him around, "There is nothing you can do that will bring them back."

"You're right – this isn't about bringing them back, Giles." He jerked away and grabbed the final bit he'd need, the key, "This is about getting even."

"And then what?" He looked at Willow and she went on, "What good will that do?"

"It'll put it all to rest, Willow – think of it as therapy via killing … and in case you haven't noticed, I have issues and need therapy." With that, he turned and walked out of the room, brushing past them all and picking up the duster, covering his clothing and weapons, but then he stopped – there, on the couch, sat the rapier, and something inside of him told him, no, screamed at him to not forget his rapier, so he put it away in the coat as well even as Joyce made her way down the stairs.

"Xander, please … think about this – is this something that Buffy would want you to do?"

"No, and frankly, Joyce, I could care less about what Buffy would want me to do. I stopped listening to her a long time ago."

She flared a little at this and set her jaw, "Then is this something that your mother would want you to do?"

This gave him pause and he cast his mind back to all of the times he'd spent with his mom and her family, "Mom? Probably not. Her family, however, is another matter – you kill one Irish man or woman, you had better be ready to kill them all, because they are coming after you." Steeling his nerve, he walked to the front door, pausing at there and giving her a sad look, "I'm sorry, Joyce, but blood demands blood … and I can't ignore the calls of my blood." With that, he walked out as the sun began to sink – he wasn't going to the factory just yet, as he had to pick up one other party favor.

(Old Factory – 11:00 PM)

He wasn't surprised to see the van pull up and six men with guns hop out of it, but what he was surprised to see was the guy barking out orders – he was about medium height, a deceptively thin build, with short black hair, a goatee, dressed in dark clothes and what looked to be a cloak, but the one thing that struck Xander as odd was he was missing an eye, his left one, and he wore a patch over it, like it was a badge of honor of some kind. This man then looked around and looked more than a little confused, but Xander didn't pay any mind to that as he moved his crosshairs to follow one of the men – his rifle wasn't much to look at, in fact it had nothing on the newer models that had come out in the past twenty five or thirty years, but none of that mattered now that he'd put a suppressor, a bipod and a light-amplifying scope on it. It hadn't been fired, before he had gotten it, for nearly a half-century, since Korea, actually, but now that he'd put some time, effort and TLC into it, the old Garand M1 was ready for a little action.

"Hi there," he whispered as one of the guards stepped behind a secluded area to light up a smoke, and he then squeezed the trigger – the large bullet, meant to stop a man dead in his tracks at a hundred paces, made barely a noise as it left the gun, thanks to the large, coffee-can sized suppressor he'd put on the end of the weapon, and it slammed into the man's chest less than a second later, erupting out the other side and burying into the ground with a cloud of blood, flesh and bone even as the action spit out the old brass and picked up a new round from the internal magazine of eight, well, now seven. He wasn't scared of the muzzle flash, as faint as it was, being seen, as he was in some scrub grass in the surrounding area, but what he was afraid of was that his targets would be against the metal building, which would ring like a bell when the bullet went through them and hit it – it would make his entrance a bit harder to mask, but you couldn't have everything in life.

Thirty minutes, three shots and three kills later Xander tucked the weapon away on his escape vehicle and looked around, grabbing both the sword and checked the rest of his things – there was no turning back now. Who knew, maybe he'd see the next sunrise?

(Ten minutes later - Factory Exterior)

Even as she dropped the bloodless corpse to the ground silently, she smiled a blood-filled smile as she watched her Kitten emerge from the shadows, a knife in hand, and stalk his prey like the good Kitten he was – she didn't even flinch as he grabbed the man's mouth, pulled him back, slid the knife through the side of his throat and push out, in fact she felt both a touch of regret and a dose of arousal with the cold proficiency with which he executed the man, "Oh, no naughty thoughts for Mummy about her Kitten. No naughty thoughts … not just yet."

She walked unmolested to a window of the factory and listened as the low, gravely voice of the killer spoke to her Kitten, "Very impressive, Mister Harris – given how new you are to this, I figured you to be holding your head in agony by now." Dru curled her lip and sneered at the man – she hated the French, namely because they tasted so foul back when she, grandmummy and Angelus were romping across Europe, but that hate left as her mind returned her back to her path of Redemption.

"That's me, full of surprises – who the fuck are you?"

"Oh, I've gone by many names over the centuries, but once, a long time ago, I was a Musketeer, and I then served the Cardinal when I was asked to leave that service by your ancestor's mentors." She watched as he pulled his sword, but was smiling as Alexander had yet to come out of the shadows yet, "Tell me, boy, did your father ever tell you of his family line?"

"No – did you know my mother is … was …Irish?" There was that same hint of accent in her kitten's voice that was in her daddy's voice, but this time it was dead.

"No, I did not – I guess that does explain why you are here, though. I realize that there is no love lost between you and your father, and while I have nothing against you personally, I have long since sworn myself to extinguishing the line of D'Artagnian. Come, boy, for destiny awaits us."

"When you get to hell, say hi to Tony for me … and save me a seat." She watched him step out of the shadows of the factory, with a rapier in one hand and a pistol in the other.

The man sneered, "Ah, so the coward emerges within you – do you know your father offered me your mother to let him live? That I could defile her body in any way I could imagine, just so he could life another day of his miserable life?"

Dru actually winced as Alexander spoke, his voice even and lacking any kind of surprise, "That doesn't surprise me, really."

"Do you know that, as I cut out his innards, he cursed me, his family line, his wife and you, especially? That with his dying breath, he cursed you to the depths of hell?"

"Well, what do you know? He felt the same way about me that I felt about him." With that said, Alexander squeezed the trigger of his pistol and out came a flurry of his bullets, like a nest of hornets who were terribly vexed, and each of them slammed into the man's chest and body, blowing through the other side until the pistol locked open, "Never bring a sword to a gun fight."

Dru watched as her Kitten walked forwards, putting his gun away and gripping his sword, but the man on the ground wasn't done, just yet, "That ... was against … the rules."

"You killed my father, as worthless as he was, and you killed my mother – my Irish blood demands vengeance … so do you think I give a fuck about your 'rules'?" She watched as the bad man's wounds began to close, sealing with bolts of lightning, but Alexander apparently did not know what it meant.

The man decided to try and stall for time, "Mercy … please, have mercy."

"Mercy? What's that?" No sooner had her Kitten said that, then he drew his arm back and stabbed his enemy through the stomach, but the man was apparently not as stupid as he appeared to act because he rolled out of the way, albeit not without some pain, and made a grab for his sword. As Alexander recovered, the former Musketeer grabbed his sword, got to his feet and was able to get several good swings in, one of them getting close even as Alexander clumsily parried and blocked with his own rapier, but not before blood was drawn on Alexander's cheek from a glancing strike.

"Hmm, it appears that you are not as good as you would think, boy. It's a shame, really, that this will have to end so quickly – it's been some time since I've had a good fight with one of your blood."

"Really? Since when?" Her Kitten held his sword at the ready even as he backed away, the wound of his cheek already closing, "I mean, as long as we're here, you could answer me that."

The man smirked slightly, "Yes, I could, but where would that get you?" He stepped in and tried to stab Kitten in his torso, but Alexander turned slightly and shoved the man away, causing the bad man to lose his grip on his sword, it skittering away, and on pure reflex Alexander appeared to just stab down and pin him to the ground, stomach first.

Alexander looked at the man for a moment, as if not sure what he had done, but then shook his head clear and walked over and picked up the other man's sword, "You know, your note said that 'there can be only one'; I'm not sure why you left it for me and, frankly, I don't care. You killed Tony Harris, something I've wanted to do for a while, and while that in and of itself is mostly forgivable, you killed my mother – that isn't." With that, he decapitated the man on the ground and kicked the head away before reaching into his clothing and pulling out a rosary, kissing it, "Vengeance is served, _mama_."

Dru pulled back from the window and began to quickly move away, knowing what was going to happen – this wouldn't have been the first Quickening she had seen, and she knew how easily the storm that was to come would destroy her if she were in the area. Of course, she also knew that she could not feed from an Immortal – their blood tasted vile and hurt her tummy like holy water did once it got there, but not before, something most vampires learned after their first experience with draining an Immortal. Of course, the fact that she had attacked a holy man on holy ground who happened to be Immortal might have had something to do with it, but she wasn't going to risk it ever again.

It started out as a flicker of light, then with an explosion and some very naughty words from Alexander, the Quickening began with a fury – the explosions of fire, glass, steel and his screams soon intermingled and Dru found herself alternately wincing and becoming aroused, again, as her soul and her insanity vied for control of her mind. She had so loved the screams of men as she tortured them in the past, but now that her soul was back, she was often torn between that love and sickness as she tried to come to grips with both sanity and soul, but also insanity and her soul as well. Finally, though, the lights died out and she dashed to the window again, spying her Kitten, her Alexander, on the ground, and she could not hear his heart, so she dashed inside, kicking the bad man twice for all of the trouble he had caused along the way, and then stopping and kneeling over Alexander's body – he was pale, unmoving, yet she could smell the life coursing through his veins as burns healed on his skin and muscles twitched.

"Mummy … I must leave for now, Alexander – may God protect you … and the stars sing their lovely song to you." She picked him up by the front of his vest, grabbing his rosary as well, burning her hand, but not caring as she pressed her lips to his in a kiss for several minutes before releasing him and nursing her hand, running away into the night.

(Later – Factory)

He gasped and arched his back even as he smell of burnt flesh and … lilacs (?) ... assaulted his nose – he sat up with a coughing fit and immediately wished he had not, as nausea and pain hit his body, but also as the memories hit his mind. Whatever the lightning storm the guy had created had done to him, it hurt, and it made him remember all sorts of things he really didn't want to, so he just lay there as his mind sorted out what was real and what wasn't, what was 'his' and what had been the other guy's.

Memories of past battles, past lovers, family, friends, loss and hate assaulted his mind in waves, but having been possessed twice and having dealt with the memories of the Soldier, he found a way to shunt those memories that were not his off to another part of his mind, where he somehow knew they would stay until he needed them. By the time this happened, though, he could see the first rays of light beginning to fill the sky, which made him get up and get moving, pausing only long enough to grab his sword and that of the man … who was now looking like a lump of decaying matter, quickly decaying, at that, before he ran out of the factory but stopped at one of the bodies – he had killed five of the men that had come with 'Frenchie', but number six had not been killed by one of his bullets or his knife, in fact he looked like he'd had his throat torn out and been fed off of by a vampire. This got his mental wheels turning as he frisked the men – he'd smelled lilacs and burnt flesh when he came to several hours before, but now that he thought about it, he only knew one person who wore lilacs or anything that smelled like lilacs … Drusilla. What had she been doing there? Was she the one who had killed the other guard?

Those thoughts, though, took a trip to the back burner as he heard several cars coming his way, police, more than likely with as much noise as the 'storm' had made, so he high-tailed it over the small ridge and over to where he'd set his Uncle Rory's mountain bike – no sense in bringing a car that could be heard and tracked, after all. Getting the guns and everything else home, though, was going to be a challenge, even in Sunnydale.

(Later – Summers Residence)

Joyce watched Xander like a hawk even as Rupert examined the sword that he had brought back, a 'khandar' that was in excellent shape, and Joyce briefly wondered what was going through Xander's mind even as Willow and Jenny eyed him warily, Oz having left for practice the previous evening and he had not returned as of yet – she and everyone had given Xander a piece of their minds about what he had apparently done the previous night, ripping him several new ones until he was allowed to speak, at which point he told them about the man, who he had been, what he had done, and why he had done it. Giles had taken that point to say how it could have been handled differently, but Xander had only laughed at him.

"Don't look me in the eyes and tell me that you wouldn't have done it the same way, RIPPER. I hated Tony with every fiber of my being, but … but mom deserved better than that – I did what any son would have done."

Giles, though, had come right back with a scathing retort, "Damn it, boy, for once in your life THINK! He could have had back up, reinforcements."

"He did – they're all dead. Funny thing, though, that I didn't get one of them – vamp did." He had gone on to explain what had happened and their proposed role in the entire thing, to soften him up for their boss, at which point he had snorted, "I take offense to being 'softened up' for anybody."

Joyce shook herself out of her thoughts as Giles came into the room, handing the sword to Xander, "You have a work of art in your hands, Xander – don't lose it."

"I'll try not to." Joyce could see a slightly haunted look in his eyes even as Xander took the sword, looking over the pommel and ornate scabbard, "So, I take it you know what I am, Giles?"

"Yes, as I suppose you know as well by now." As he started up his tale, Joyce remembered just what Rupert had told them the previous evening about what he had guessed Xander to be now, an Immortal, and that guess had been confirmed about one that morning – Xander would never age, never die a lasting death save for if he were decapitated, would never have children and would be in a constant state of mortal combat until, in the end, there was only one Immortal left to rule the world as something akin to a god. This had sent shivers down her spine as to just what it meant for the young man – sure, he would never feel the ravages of time, but he would also never grow old with someone he loved, he would never father children, he would be … he would be a killer for the rest of his life, constantly on the edge of death and danger. That was no life for a young man to lead, Immortal or not.

Finally, an hour later, as Giles finished his tale for a second time, Xander sat back in the couch, his eyes dark, his face drawn up into a flat mask, and for several minutes he said nothing until he finally sighed, "Typical – once again I am the butt monkey of the cosmos. It's all one big FUCKING JOKE on ME!" He shot to his feet and, after grabbing his sword, stormed out of the house to the back yard, snarling the entire way.

"Leave him," she heard the librarian say to both Willow and Jenny. "He has a great deal to process right now, and he has even more to accept."

"But, he shouldn't be alone right now, Giles." She pitied Willow, she really did – for the first time in her life, she could not help or set right something with her best friend, being relegated to merely watch.

"He's always going to be alone, in one way or another, isn't he?" They all looked at her and Joyce felt a slight blush cross her cheeks, "I mean, from what you said, he's always going to look 17 or so, never have kids … he's going to be alone."

Rupert only sighed and hung his head, "In one respect, yes, he will be – few Immortals ever form lasting friendships, given the nature of what they do when they meet in combat, but some do, which is why I have had an associate call a friend of his to get Xander a teacher. With any luck, he will live for centuries, perhaps even longer."

"Or he may die tomorrow, permanently." Willow's voice was edgier, more cynical even as Jenny pulled her close and hugged her.

"Let us hope for the best, then," Rupert said even as Joyce got to her feet and walked to the kitchen, her coffee mug in hand. From there, she could see Xander in her back yard, holding his sword and making his way through some kind of exercise as if he only half-remembered it. She put the cup into the sink, sat on the floor, and proceeded to cry for the loss of his innocents – someone, after all, had to.

(LA)

Drusilla set up the last thing into place in her new home, her new haven, and looked around – over the previous night she had come to terms with her bouts of insanity, that they come and go, and now had her feet on the right path for the first time since before she was turned; she now had herself tucked away in the deepest basement of an old, abandoned hospital on the outskirts of LA and, much to her discomfort, it was right below the old chapel – she'd spent all night dragging things down there, but now it was all set.

She worried about Alexander, she supposed she always would, but those thoughts were chased from her mind as she knelt before the large wooden cross and crossed herself, her hand still healing and showing the perfect burn of the crucifix Alexander had been wearing. She'd find a way, now the she had her soul, to redeem herself in the eyes of God – she couldn't dust herself, that would be taking the easy way out, and she knew that a soul lost, regained and truly repentant would not be all she would need to earn her Redemption. No, she'd need more power, more training, and a lot of luck even as she began to speak, "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen."

AN: Okay, that's it for this part – what do you think? Warning, this will get a little dark in places, and there will be a rather sizable gap of time that passes between this part and the next one in the story. Next part, in fact, starts at the beginning of Season 3 – let the training and insanity ensue.

AN2: Let me clear something up right here, well, two something – first, this is not a Drusilla and Xander story, but also I know it seems that Dru is odd, even for Dru, but that's because her sanity and insanity are fighting right now, so she's switching back and forth between what is 'right' and what is 'Dru'.


	2. Chapter 2

2?

AN: Only a little possible Buffy bashing in this part – kinda borderline on if it's bashing, so call it as it is.

(Start S3 – Sunnydale Library)

She walked into the library, tired, worn and completely ready for her nightmare of a summer to be over, but that nightmare was one of her own making – she had forced herself to do what was necessary after the ensouling spell didn't hit Angelus, but rather it had failed after Willow had told her she was going to try it again, and by the time that had registered, that she was not going to get her Angel back, it was already too late, so she sent him to hell. After that she had run away to the one place that she knew, the one place that she could just … just fade away, LA, but that in and of itself wasn't as easy as she remembered as her Slayer powers and her senses had made it all but impossible for her to just forget who she was – she'd finally gotten a job as a waitress under the name 'Anne', but then there was the whole cult thing she'd found, where the street kids were pulled into a demonic other realm to work as slaves for only days on Earth, but decades in the other realm. It was then that she realized that, if she ran for forever, she would never outrun her destiny as a Vampire Slayer – as much as it sucked, she was stuck with it until she died … again.

It was then that she heard a sound that she wasn't too rusty to forget about – it was a sound that meant that a sword had just hit another sword, and that two people were sparring: had Kendra's replacement already show up? She peeked around the corner of the nearest book shelf and saw a woman in black swinging a sword … at Xander? Buffy started to move forwards to attack the woman and protect Xander, but Xander dodged the blow and returned one of his own, which the woman blocked, and that went on for nearly ten minutes … but Buffy didn't notice – Xander was dressed in a pair of loose running pants, barefoot, and wearing a 'wife beater' shirt that showed off a strong back and a pair of arms that were filled to the brim with lean, hard whipcord muscle, like that of a swimmer, but also the amount of sweat he was sweating had made his shirt wet and let her see the muscle there as well. She felt her heart rate pick up slightly even as the pair continued to dance their little dance – they were both smiling as they slashed, parried, thrust and blocked, but more to the point, the woman was also playing with Xander.

"Come on, Alex, surely you can do better with your weapon." The couched innuendo brought a touch of warmth to Buffy's cheeks as she studied the woman – she wasn't tall, only about five and a half feet tall or so, but she had a graceful form and a body of an action-ready person, someone who practiced often and was good at what they did. Her skin was pale, her features refined and her hair was in a long bob, but obviously bleached as her eyebrows and the slight show of dark roots proved, but in her outfit, she pulled it off even as she thrust forward with her rapier.

Xander blocked the strike with a push to the side and then pulled it up and around, until his own sword, a rapier itself, was to his side and the woman's right arm was across her body, pointed to her left, "Why Mandy, you weren't saying that last night." His tone was teasing, even as his eyes were obscured by long hair that, for some reason, Buffy found herself wanting to go and comb back with her fingers, but there was also a healthy tone of flirting in his voice as well.

'Mandy' smirked, "I'm too much woman for you, kid, and I always will be."

Xander smirked right back, "Then why is it that you've 'accidentally' walked in on me in the shower seven times in the past month? I keep telling you, if you want to look and touch, all you have to do is ask." With a flick of his wrist and another push, the woman's rapier went sailing and Xander pulled back, "I do believe this means that you buy dinner tonight, Amanda."

'Amanda' narrowed her eyes and pouted, "Are you sure that Ripper never taught you anything about swordplay?"

Xander, however, just snorted in disgust, "No – Willow was worth the effort to teach something to, apparently, but me? No," he drawled, taking up a rag as they both made their way to a table with stuff on it, "not me – never mind all the shit I've kept from them, or the things I've done and killed to keep them alive they'll never know about. Though, to be fair, they are all stuck in the Middle Ages – I prefer to use things like, you know, guns and explosives to kill my vampires." Buffy felt her eyes widen at this remark even as he began to clean the blade and then as he ran a stone over the front few inches of the blade, "Nope, they like their dangerous methods, so let them have it."

Amanda smirked, "Dangerous?"

He shrugged, "Why get close? I use napalm, gaseous holy water, ammonium perchlorate, Willy Pete, hell, even hollow point rounds to the joints to slow them down or take them out – God forbid I get hurt, after all."

Amanda's voice sounded darkly amused to Buffy's ears as she tutted, "Be nice, Alex – it's not their fault we all can't be Slayers."

"Thank God – I'd be public enemy number one by the time I got out of California!" Buffy felt her heart hitch slightly even as he finished sharpening his blade and ran a few other things over it, mostly what smelled to be oil of some kind, his face a mixture of disgust and relief, "I mean, can you think of how many people would be killed if all of the possible Slayers could become a Slayer? Could you imagine if the school loser, picked on by everyone and their dog, was suddenly given the power to do whatever she wanted? She'd fucking slaughter them all in a week!"

"True," Amanda conceded even as she winced at his choice of words and finished her blade and unzipped her top and took it off to reveal a soaked t-shirt over a sports bra and a hard, but sexy, body. "Still, you have an advantage over all of them that they can never have."

"My dashing good looks, rapier-like wit and the fact that I'm being taught by a goddess of an Immortal thief?" Buffy blinked at the list things, and the confidence behind it, but more so at the 'immortal' comment than the 'thief' bit.

Amanda smirked at him, "Comments like that will have me practicing the more … dexterous … aspects of the Kama Sutra on you, Alex. No, I was talking about our gift and our curse."

Xander snorted, "Please, being Immoral is nothing to use such a monumental Spiderman quote on."

Amanda leveled a level look at Xander, "But it's true enough – what would you do if she were like us?"

Xander shivered, "We'd kill each other, eventually, or I would be forced to start moving every few months for the next decade until she finally lost me. I tell ya, sometimes she just can't take a hint."

By this point, Buffy had heard enough to snap out of her trance and she stepped out, "I'm not that bad."

Amanda looked more than a little surprised to her being there, but Xander didn't even bat an eye, "Then why are Kendra and all of Angelus' victims dead? You would try to rationalize what it is to be an Immortal as you have with being a Vampire Slayer and it would get a lot of people you care about very dead if you meet the right Immortal sicko who would use them against you. Trust me, I know."

Buffy felt her temper starting to flare, "What do you mean?"

Xander just snorted, blowing off her ire, "What I mean is if we'd done things the right way, instead of your way, they all might still be alive – Kendra, Theresa, all of them. But no, we listened and did things your way … and they're all dead." His tone was beyond disgusted and Buffy felt more than a little hurt even as the Library doors opened and Giles, Willow and her mother came into the room – what hurt most, though, was that in the back of her mind, she knew he was right.

"Buffy?" She turned and looked at her mother, who had tears in her eyes and a few more lines on her face even as she and Willow rushed forwards, Giles being too busy cleaning his glasses to do anything.

It took several minutes for Willow and her mother to let go, but eventually she was able to get them off of her and then the questions began to barrage in from mostly all sides, but she was more than a little put out that Xander had completely blow her off in favor of going back to work with the woman, Amanda, only now not with swords, but instead with their hands and feet.

"Where have you been, young lady?" She looked at Giles and felt almost as if she were being called down by her dad, Hank, over getting into his top drawer and looking at the magazines with the funny pictures of naked people.

"Um, LA?" She winced as both Giles and her mom began to puff up for what appeared to be a monumental ass-chewing, but she forestalled them with raising her hands, "Look, I know, I shouldn't have run away … but I needed time. I mean, I had just sent Angel to hell."

"Angelus," Willow corrected almost automatically. "I'm sorry, Buffy, but you sent Angelus to hell – some other vampire got their soul back for some reason that we can't figure out."

Buffy nodded, having already guessed this, "Who?"

Willow shrugged, "I don't know."

Giles spoke up then even as Cordelia, Jenny and Oz walk through the door, though not looking convinced at all at her explanation, "Buffy, we've been worried sick about you. How could you have been so … selfish as to not at least call us to let you know you were okay?"

"You didn't need me, Giles, and I needed time alone."

Giles snorted, "Trust me, child, we did need you, if for nothing else than for your senses and your mere presence."

"Rupert!" Her mother had that tone in her voice and, for a few seconds, Buffy didn't envy Giles at all, "I know what Buffy did was … ill advised, but that's not reason to berate her like that."

Giles just snorted again even as Xander and Amanda went at each other even quicker, flesh and bone meeting flesh and bone, "Joyce, unless I am forgetting something, if Buffy had been here you would not have been kidnapped."

Buffy jerked her head at him, "Kidnapped? By who?"

"It doesn't matter anymore, Buffy," her mother said soothingly while sending Giles a death glare, which he shrugged off. "They've been … taken care of."

This didn't deter her anger any, though, "By who?"

"Xander." She blinked at this and looked at her mother, who went on, "He's also one of the things that have changed since you left." She led Buffy to a chair, sat her down, and began to recount the entire tale, each part more horrifying than the first.

(Later)

Buffy shook even as the tears subsided, her mother having told the tale of what had happened to Xander, about what Angelus had done to him, and the resistance that Xander had shown even under those conditions – she had known he was capable of putting up with a lot of pain, who could take some of the hits he took without giving in on occasion, but seven hours before screaming? On top of that, Angelus had fed of him, killing him after over ten hours of agony, and then waking up in the morgue without a mark on his body, not as a vampire, and going home to find his parents murdered – if he wasn't a target for someone's anger up high, then he had the worst luck on the planet, "So, this guy came after Xander … because Xander killed the man who killed Xander's parents?"

Giles nodded, "Yes, he did, and to ensure that Xander fought him on his own terms, he kidnapped your mother." The concept of Immortality was as strange as that of the Vampire Slayer, only on a grander scale – the last one there had all the power of every Immortal and would be a god; it blew her mind that not only was Xander one of those people, but he was being trained by a woman who was over a thousand years old only after he had killed two Immortals already by breaking the 'rules'. "Buffy, the man was Terakan."

This made her wince even more as Xander and Amanda slowed down and came to a halt, both of them breathing hard but not apparently exhausted – while he moved, Buffy noticed while before Xander had moved first with little in the way of grace but, after both the Hyena and the Soldier, he had moved more fluidly, now he moved like her, like a hunting cat, and his steps made little or no sound as he wiped off and bantered with Amanda. He was also alert, his body ready for any and all attacks that were made from anywhere, and she wondered idly what would happen if she were to attack him right then, "Was there a contract?"

Giles shook his head, "No, it was personal – apparently, Xander killed this man's one-time lover and he wanted vengeance." Buffy blinked at this, but Giles went on, "But as he was Terakan, he had means at his disposal that were not normal, so he kidnapped your mother and made Xander fight him without a sword."

Buffy blinked, "But … I thought you said Immortals had to have their heads taken off to die for good?"

"They do," Xander said, walking up with Amanda, his face a flat mask, "but you're forgetting something, Buffy."

"And that would be?"

He gave her a chilly grin, "I always cheat at whatever game I play." He sat next to Amanda on a bench and stretched out slightly, "In actuality, you seem to be taking all of this rather well – what's up?"

"Well, it's really weird, yes, but … it's not out of the norm for Sunnydale."

Amanda snorted, "Child, this is the Hellmouth – there is nothing NORMAL here at all."

Buffy narrowed her eyes – she hated being called 'child'. "So, how did you cheat in this 'game'?"

Xander seemed to hedge slightly, "He'd hurt your mom, Buff – I always thought of her as my own mom and, well, the thought made me mad."

Buffy waited for the rest of it, but he hedged, hemmed and hawed for several minutes before Giles sighed and spoke up, "Xander ripped his head off of his shoulders after twisting his head around twice."

Buffy turned and gaped at him openly, to which he shrugged, "Okay, so I got really mad, but either way it doesn't matter."

"Doesn't matter? Xander …" Buffy drew herself up to start a verbal tirade but then stopped herself when she saw the look of pure indifference in Xander eyes – sure, in the past two years he'd become more cynical, they all had, but only twice before had she ever seen the look she was getting right now, "What happened to you? What did this to you?" He arched an eyebrow at her signaled for her to elaborate, so she did, "You have NEVER been so blasé about killing people, so why start now?"

"Because that's what I'm going to be doing for the rest of eternity? Or how about because that, in its purest and simplest terms, killing people in order to survive is the nature of The Game? Oh, or how about this one – I'm the one who has to live with those memories, not you?" He looked at her flatly and sat against the table, "Regardless, I've been changed by the Quickenings, we all are in some way or another."

"He's right," Amanda jumped, her tone not defensive or accepting, only informative. "Whenever we go through a Quickening, we absorb the essence of whoever we have just killed – I know that one time, after I had killed a man who had once enjoyed stalking attractive redheads, I unconsciously did that for nearly a decade off and on until I was able to snap myself out of it. It takes time, but we learn to control some of the aspects of who we become, and Xander just has yet to learn that."

Buffy opened her mouth once, and then twice, but finally just closed it and accepted what had been told to her – Xander would never be the same person ever again because of who he was now. She didn't like it, nor did she want to accept it, but it wasn't up to her, or anyone else – it just was.

(Sunnydale High School – 2 weeks later)

Buffy warmed up with some stretches even as she watched both Amanda, who now had her hair as her natural black color, and Xander, who had cut his hair back to a very short sided and with a barely longer top style, both worked out not far from her with two weapons apiece – Amanda had her rapier and a long-bladed dirk, but Xander had a basketed broadsword he'd picked up somewhere he wouldn't tell her about (something that irked her greatly) and a Bowie knife, and both of them were intent in their practice, though while Amanda had only a light sheen of sweat on her skin, Xander was sweating more heavily and had several large holes in his shirt, not to mention fresh blood on him as well. Buffy had learned rather quickly that Amanda was not a cruel woman, or a vicious one, but she had taken time to tell both her and Willow that what she was going to do to Xander was the way she had been instructed to instruct him by a better teacher and a friend of hers, a guy named Methos, a funny name in Buffy's opinion – Amanda had shown that she personally detested what was about to happen, but to keep her student alive, she first wanted to teach him to fight, and later would teach him how to run. She, though her methods, proved that she was a woman who, even if she liked you, would not let up on you during training that could one day keep you alive just because you needed to catch your breath – on more than one occasion Buffy had seen her kill Xander due to his lack of attention, or had broken bones (his knee, once, when he made a comment on how big her butt looked in some pants, though that crime was worth more than a broken knee), and while it was still a harsh reality to accept, Buffy did just that, accept, that this was the life that Xander would live, especially after Amanda and Giles had both taken her off to the side and told her of how an Immortal must be ready, willing and able to leave their 'life' as a mortal behind if they 'died' a public 'death'. Everything!

Of course, not long after that talk Amanda had taken Xander off to the side and had begun to instruct him on the finer points of creating new identities, which they argued over for the next few days – they had gone over things like native languages and places of 'birth', to local skills and topical points of how the parents, provided there were parents, 'died', all the way to explaining away swords and how he looks so much 'like your father', or 'like your brother'. Frankly, it made Buffy's head hurt with all of the angles that Xander was going to have to deal with in his life for the rest of eternity, and for a split second of pure selfishness, she was glad that it was he who was Immortal, and not her.

"Ow!" Xander skipped away from Amanda, his left hand, which held the Bowie knife, clutching his butt cheek, "That hurt!"

Amanda only gave him a look, "Oh, do grow up – I was only teaching you how to keep an eye on your backside when both are on your opponent. Now, switch hands and we shall continue."

Xander glared at Amanda but did as he was asked and, for not the first time, Buffy wondered how he had been able to kill two of his own kind without getting killed in the process – sure, he had technically 'cheated' in The Game, but even by his own admission, he cheated at every game he played (and if she ever figured out how he had pulled that inside straight a few nights ago, she'd get Mr. Gordo back in a heartbeat), but apparently he was going to learn how to do things the right way, even if Amanda was a bigger cheater than he was (and now Buffy only had to prove she had cheated to get her Mr. Pointy back).

"Ah, Buffy," Giles spoke up from within his padded suit. "Your patrol tonight has been cancelled due to … er … prior engagements. While I am sure you are devastated to hear this," Giles went on as she didn't even try to hide her joy at getting a night off, "I do ask that you investigate the Bronze for any possible vampire activity."

Buffy lost some of her smile as she began to smell a rat (… or was that her socks?) "Giles? What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much, just some things that I have heard over the proverbial 'mystical grapevine', and if anything were going to happen, it would be at the Bronze," Giles said as he slipped the helmet of his suit.

She bounced from one foot to the other and loosened up some more, "Well, I'll go, but Xander's going on patrol, so how about I go with him and we can check out the Bronze together?" She looked over at Xander to see what he thought of the idea, but he was a touch busy trying to keep Amanda from sticking her sword into his body again, "Hey, Giles, I've been meaning to ask you, how'd Amanda get stuck with Xander as a student?"

"Hmm? Oh, well, Amanda and I met some years ago, before I was a field Watcher, and I helped her out of something of a jam – she told me that if I ever needed help, to call and she would repay her debt."

Buffy shot him a look, "You didn't tell her that she was getting a new student, did you?"

Giles nodded inside of his suit, "Yes, I did – if I recall correctly, her first question was 'is he cute?'."

Buffy blinked and turned back to look at the pair, "So, you mean that they're …"

"Oh, good Lord, no, Buffy," Giles admonished her as he removed her helmet. "Amanda is a bit of a tease, as I am sure that you have seen, but she would at least wait until Xander is officially 18. Beside that point, last I heard she was in something of a semi-serious relationship with another Immortal, one Duncan MacLeod."

Buffy felt her gut unclench even as Amanda shrieked and hopped away from Xander, holding her own butt cheek that had blood running down it, "Oh, okay."

(Later)

Xander ghosted next to Buffy as she tromped through the graveyard leading to the Bronze like a drunken buffalo on stilts, making so much noise that he knew he would never sneak up on anything – it was something that had irritated him greatly since his absorption of the Terakan's Quickening some time back, when his allies, long-term or temporary, did things half-assed when they were capable of so much better, and of all of the things that he had gotten out of the deal, Xander truly wished that he could banish that particular habit.

"So, what's up? You're all gloomy and gussy." He looked over at Buffy, who popped a bubble as she fiddled with the stake in her hands, "You're normally a lot less quiet."

"People change, Buffy, and I'm hunting … or trying to."

She gave him another look and dropped her stake, which clattered against a headstone, "Hunting?"

"Yes, think of it as patrolling without making all of the unnecessary noise that you're making." She gave him a hard look as she grabbed her stake again, "I mean, really, if vamps were anything like real animals, they wouldn't get within shooting distance with as much noise as you're making."

"But they aren't animals, they're vampires." She stuck her hands in her pockets and looked around, "So, you wanna go with me to the Bronze? It's been a while, you know?"

Xander looked at her and, idly, began to wonder if she was on the level even as he felt something ping against his senses, "Thanks, Buff, but no thanks – I feel like hunting tonight."

She gave him a look before replying playfully, "What? You're turning down quality Buffy time? Who are you and what have you done with Xander?"

He snorted softly, "I'm still Xander, only I've grown up a lot."

She was quiet for a little while longer as they made their way back across another part of the sprawling cemetery, though this time Buffy was doing her best to mimic his lack of noise, but that lasted only a few minutes, "So, what's going on with you and Amanda?" He looked over and she went on, "Well, I mean I heard you two flirting the other day … so I kind figured that you and she were…"

He snorted again, though this time in amusement, "Sorry, Buffy, but no – she's into another Immortal, some guy named Duncan MacLeod."

"So, are you looking? I saw lots of the girls at school checking you out, even some of the Cordetts." That had been some kind of a revelation when, out of the blue, both Harmony and Aura had come up to him and openly asked, in front of God and everyone, if he'd like to go on a 'double' date that night; traffic in the crowded halls of Sunnydale High, as slow-moving as it was, stopped cold as all present had waited on his answer.

Xander, for his part, had snorted both then and now, "Yeah, I noticed." He'd let Harmony down with his typical lack of flair, but Aura more gently for some reason or another, saying that for Harmony there was too much bad blood there to ever go out on a date, but for Aura, he had other plans for that, which Harmony resented the hell out of, screeching in indignation, while Aura had given him an almost shy smile and walked away with just a touch too much sway in her skirt-clad hips. "And to answer your question, no, I'm not looking."

She cocked an eyebrow at him, "Oh? As in not looking period, or you've found someone and are pining away for them?"

He shook his head and sighed, "Why the sudden interest in my love life, or lack of one, Buff?"

She just shrugged, "Well, I was thinking that if you weren't really looking … you and I could go out, you know, just to see if it would work." She seemed to almost smile when he stopped dead in his tracks, as if remembering the rather blatant crush she had admitted to have seen in him in respects to her ever since they had met, but when he turned to her, she saw his look of confusion, "What?"

"You … and me in a date-like nature?" She nodded and he looked at her oddly, "Alright, I'll bite – what brought this on?"

"Well, it's … I don't know. I mean, after the whole 'a vampire for a boyfriend' thing, I … I wanna see if it's okay to date a normal human again."

He gave her a look, "I've been called a lot of things, Buff, but 'normal' is something I am not a whole lot of as of late."

Buffy looked a little hurt even as she sat on a large headstone, "So, what, are you calling it off already?"

Xander just shrugged, "Maybe I am – I don't know. I mean, if this is all because you lost Capt… Angel, well, then I don't want to be 'rebound guy'.

She frowned again, "So, you won't even consider it? I mean, do you think you're too good for me, or something?"

Xander gave her a look, like she had lost it, "Huh?"

Buffy shot to her feet, beginning to pace, "I mean, am I not good enough for you? What is it about me that makes you say 'no, Buffy, I don't want to go out with you'?"

"Uh, your apparent loss of your mind? Buffy, calm down!" He reached over and grabbed her by the shoulders, halting her pacing as she began to wear a track in the grass, "Look, I don't know what's going on in that mind of yours, but cease and desist – it's not that I don't want to go out with you … it is that; I see you as a friend, only as a friend, and not of the dating type." With that he let go of her shoulders and reached inside of his duster even as he felt another ping against his Immortal senses, unsheathing his basketed broadsword, turning and pointing it towards a bank of deep shadows as Buffy squeaked, "Hello, Dru."

(Elsewhere)

He watched as both the Slayer and her Immortal compatriot walked through the cemeteries, and while the boy had potential to be a great asset to his Clan, the girl was just like almost every Slayer he had run into over the past seven hundred years, bar a few whom had been properly trained before their Calling, in that she did not appear to have the slightest concept of 'stealth'.

"Kitten knows we are here." He looked at his Childe, whom he had finally gotten broken of wearing the dresses she had apparently fancied over the past century and a half, as she was now wearing a pair of sensible black slacks, a red blouse of silk and an overcoat, her hair still as long as it had always been, but now held back in a long tail. Her half-sane ramblings took some getting used to, but more often than not he could tell that, slowly, her sanity was gaining a stronger foothold in her mind.

"Yes, I know." He watched as the Slayer began to prattle on about this, that and the other, eventually taking the hint to be stealthier, and finally asking the boy to go out on a date. A soft hiss from his Childe told him that the Slayer was on very thin ice even as the boy shot her down as far more gently then he himself would have, given her past choices of bedmates. Of course, he was also dead by several centuries, so his point of view was rather skewed – what human in their right mind would have sex with a vampire? With Kindred, it would be an easy way to feed, especially for the females, but with the males it was a touch harder, involving blood being sent to the proper areas for everything to work as it would have if they were mortal.

It was then, though, that the boy stepped up and calmed the Slayer down, but not long after that he turned and, with sword in hand, looked into the shadows that he and his Childe were standing, "Hello, Dru."

"Hello, Kitten."

(Graveyard proper)

"Hello, Kitten." Dru walked out of the shadows, dressed in a dark ensemble that actually made her look even more striking than her old dresses did, and it appeared to him that she was blushing, though that was a distinct impossibility given that she was a vampire, "I mean, Alexander." Even over the top of the basket of his blade, he could see into her eyes and something else was there, something that said she had some of her cookies, for once, "I see you have your claws, now." Okay, obviously not all of her cookies.

"Yes, I do. You … are sane? How's that working for you?"

Dru smiled slightly, "My soul helps, but not with … not with my memories." She appeared to shiver down to her very core even as she walked out into the moonlight, a good fifteen yards away from anything that could be construed as 'cover'. "Please, forgive me, Alexander. I should … I should have stopped Angelus from doing what he did to you, what WE did to you."

Buffy took that moment to come out of her state of shocked amazement, "Xander, what's gong on? Why isn't she dust?"

"She's repenting for her sins, apparently, and more importantly, she has her soul now." He slowly lowered his blade, pointing it down to the ground, but not putting it away even as Buffy huffed.

"So?"

He looked at her from the corner of his eye, "As I recall, that was your line of defense for Angel-"

"-And Angelus," Dru chipped in quietly from her spot.

Buffy growled, stomping one foot into the ground, "That … he was different." She pulled her stake from the back of her pants and made to go after Dru, who raised her hands in a defensive manner, but Xander beat them both to the punch and slashed at the stake, taking off the sharp end and leaving a nub that Buffy was to hold onto, "Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

He put his sword back to his side, alternating his gaze between Buffy and Drusilla, "I'm repaying a debt, Buffy – I owed her, but now she and I are even."

"Huh?"

"When that nasty man took your mummy, Slayer," Dru started, who dropped her hands from her 'ready' position, "I was the one who warned Kitten what he had in store."

Buffy looked mournfully at her stub of a stake and then at him, her eyes narrowing, "Okay, what really happened that day? Mom won't talk about it, Willow, Jenny and Cordy weren't here, and Oz and Giles only hedge around the issue."

Xander looked at her for a second, looked at Dru, who shrugged, and then sighed, "Long and the short of it is that when I killed my first Immortal, his one-time lover took that as a personal insult – with me so far?" Buffy nodded and Xander continued, "Now, apparently he wasn't as dumb as his bed-buddy and actually scouted me out beforehand, knowing that 1) I was staying with your mother, 2) she doted on me like a son, and 3) I was rather protective of her, hence his choice of her as bait. Now, when I noticed that she wasn't home one night, I got a call from him stating that he had her, he wanted my head, and if I complied he'd let her go."

Buffy snorted, "Please tell me you didn't believe him."

"Of course not – I'm slow, not dumb. Anyway, I was ready to land the Marines, so to speak, on his ass, when I got another call, but this time it was from Dru," he nodded to the vampiress, who preened slightly, "and she told me not only where he was precisely, as the place he had told me to go to was a trap that was wired to make me weaker, and I had the drop of him." He sighed again and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Unfortunately I wasn't thinking when I left and left my sword behind, like he asked. Stupid mistake, I know, but it didn't hit me until later when his Buzz hit me like a tank dropped from a C-130. We exchanged verbal barbs for a second or two and then he attacked me with mono-wire, we fought, I got my ass handed to me for most of the fight, and then he made the mistake of gloating."

"Isn't that, like, universally a bad idea if you're a bad guy? I mean, it's in all the Bond films, and nobody ever takes cue from them," Buffy griped and, for not the first time, Xander had to agree with her about how they always got the stupid 'evil' villains.

"Kitten kicked him in his sweets, he did," Dru took up at that point, Xander wincing at the memory, "and he dropped his wire."

Buffy looked at him, a puzzled look crossing her face, "Sweets?" He motioned to his groin and she blushed, "Ah, gotcha."

Xander cleared his throat again, shaking off the momentary twinge of sympathy he'd felt for the assassin, "Yeah, anyway, while he was rolling around, I got the wire, sawed into his neck, then twisted it around a few times before it popped off like a milk cap. End of story."

"Not quite – where'd you learn all of that stuff you've been training on with Amanda?"

Xander sighed, his irritation with Buffy's incessant questions again building, but he squashed it with some effort this time, "Well, it's different with each Immortal, apparently, but from what I understand I got a lot of the martial and esoteric training from our not-so-lamented Terakan, but none of the magical, not all of the personal memories, and thank God I didn't get any of the languages – I have a hard enough time with English, so I don't want to mutilate any others." He looked down at his left hand and caught a slight glint off of the ring that he wore, the same ring the Immortal assassin had worn – both Willow and Giles had thrown a fit when they had first seen it, more so when they jumped to the conclusion that he was taking the guy's place, but to Xander … well, it felt right to wear it. "That said, skills need to be practiced, or they go rusty, and if you want proof of that, ask me how to break into a top secret military instillation with nothing but duct tape, a knife and baling wire – a few months ago I might have been able to, but not anymore."

Buffy and Dru both blinked at this.

(Shadows)

He listened to the boy and, after his declaration of being able to no longer break into the instillations with very limited resources, he blinked.

(Graveyard proper)

Buffy blinked at Xander in confusion for a second and then sulked, her simmering anger towards Dru's apparent free pass because of her own stinking rules, but she had to abide by those rules, lest she be called on having massive double standards (something she had the odd feeling that she'd been called on before, but she couldn't figure out where). It was then, for some reason, that she looked down at Xander's hand and saw the Terakan brass ring on his finger, and she shivered at the thought of just how far Xander had to go into the darkness to take out a professional killer on that level – as she understood it, human Terakans were recruited from the cream of the crop of assassins, and then trained some more, making them too dangerous to take on normally, which made her question just what Xander had left out of his little story to her.

"Kitten, Alexander, I have some good news for you." Drusilla, she had to admit, cleaned up nicely when in clothes that were in the right century, but with the way she was acting, Buffy couldn't tell if she was doing just that, acting, or if she was on the level.

"Oh? What's that, Princess?" Xander, for his part, appeared to be completely at ease with the possibly-insane vampiress, something which both worried Buffy and made her feel oddly jealous.

"I've found that I don't have to kill anymore to feed." Drusilla pranced around for a second in a jig of glee even as Xander arched an eyebrow and Buffy found herself doing the same, "My Clan makes sure that I don't hurt anyone permanently when I feed, they do, and I always have a keeper with me."

"Why?"

"So they can make sure that my demon is really gone, Alexander." Drusilla shivered and, for a second, Buffy felt the hairs rise up on the back of her neck, "There are not many of our kind left, and to have me as a revenant and lose one of their Elders, which would be a crime."

Buffy looked at Xander, "Revenant? Elders?"

"Demonic breed of vampires care called 'Revenant', or freaks given that they are not 'true' vampires," Xander explained with only half of his attention on her. "'Elders' refer to the rank of the vampire in Dru's type – kinda like 'Master Vampire' in the kind we deal with, only with more age and more punch."

"You know much of our kind, young one." The voice from the bank of shadows startled Buffy even as it ticked against her mind – she knew that voice, but from where? "How is that?"

Xander, for his part, just shrugged, "I just know some of the basis from research and the memories I gained from the Terakan. Who are you?"

From the darkness stepped first a pair of black Oxfords, then charcoal slacks, leading up to a black silk shirt under a full frock jacket that matched the pants, and then finally … David Hasselhoff? Buffy blinked once, and then twice, even as she heard Xander snort in amusement, "Is there something funny?"

"No, it's just who looks just like you." Xander snickered even as Buffy found herself looking the guy over – it was a younger Hasselhoff, like from that show, KnightRider, though with the same hotness the older one had, "Actually, I'm waiting on Pam Anderson to show up in her bathing suit."

Even as Dru giggled, Buffy could only reply, "Says you – I want to see him in those red trunks." 'David' gave her a look and, for an instant, Buffy wondered if she was ever going to see the sun rise again.

"Oh, like I've never heard that one before."

AN: Alright, people, this one is in the can – a few things answered, a few more resolved, but now the big one: how in the heck did Dru become Kindred … if she IS Kindred. RR, AR.


	3. Chapter 3

3?

AN: And now, for the question of Dru's apparent lateral transfer in the respect of Vampirism. Be advised, there will be some murky spots in this – if you want more explanation, tell me via reviews and I'll explain them as well as I can (working theory, right now).

AN2: Slight Highlander cannon futch – Richie is dead, but only by about seven months or so.

Xander coughed to clear his chuckles and then looked closer at the man who David Hasselhoff looked a great deal like, "Um, I thought the Clan Cappadocian was supposed to be deathly pale, like Dru is?"

'David' gave him a smile even as Buffy cleared her own chuckles, "Yes, we are – witness the marvels of modern cosmetics." He drew his fingers down one of his cheeks and wiped away the makeup, showing the chalky skin beneath before looking back at him, "Now then, with that out of the way, we can get to why I brought my Childe here."

Buffy, however, had other plans, "Hold on – how can Drusilla be your Childe? She was turned by Angelus almost two hundred years ago."

David nodded, "True, but Slayer, there are more things and methods between heaven and earth than are known to your Watchers; you see, with her soul in place, not to mention the fact that she had regained a great deal of her sanity at the time, Drusilla came to Las Angeles and began to look for our kind, the Kindred. After a while, she did indeed find our kind, but she found the Nosferatu, and after earning their trust, they pointed her in our direction in order to find her way back towards Humanity."

"But Clan Cappadocian was nearly exterminated 800 years ago," Xander chipped in, raking his memories for what information he could find, but there was not a lot of it, "and even then they were rather … selective in their choosing of someone to Embrace."

David nodded at his even as Buffy looked confused, "True, but remember that one can only look into the depths of the Abyss for so long before longing for Final Death themselves. One of the oldest Elders in our clan longed for such and, after completing several tasks for us, Drusilla was granted dispensation from Prince Luna to drain our Elder into Final Death."

Buffy held up a finger, "So … she drained this person all the way into dust, presumably, and … and this makes her Kindred?"

"Possibly," David allowed. "It has never been tried to Embrace a revenant 'vampire', and while turning a Kindred into revenant is rather simple, we are not sure if Drusilla was completely Embraced by the blood."

Drusilla spoke up, "Kitten … I need blood, the blood of an Immortal, to ensure that this transformation is permanent."

"What?" Buffy looked at him, "But you said you were Kindred!"

David nodded, "She is, Slayer, but there is something else that needs to be addressed – both Slayer and Immortal vitae is highly prized for both its staying power and its granted abilities. Slayer blood is highly sustaining and lasts a long time, but it is also highly addictive and grants extreme physical enhancements that do not often sit well with the one who has feasted upon it, which is why its consumption is strictly forbidden. Immortal blood is not as addictive, but it has the unfortunate side effect of occasionally driving the taker of the blood into the waiting arms of passion that cannot be … easily quenched. With some of his Immortal blood, however, Alexander will not only shore up some of Drusilla's admittedly shaky mental foundations, but to cement her transformation to Kindred," David explained to Buffy even as Dru drew closer to him.

"Kitten, you know I would never harm you, not after what … what I have done in my past," Dru said, staring right into his eyes. He knew, deep within his soul, that she would not put her mind whammy on him, and nodded, "And do you also know that if this does not work, that I do become a revenant again, I will be hunted and destroyed."

"I know." Xander stepped back and looked at David, "If Dru gets caught in this Uber-horny state, what happens?"

David coughed, and Buffy blushed a bright red as Dru looked down, slowly drawing the toe of her boot through the grass, looking quite embarrassed as her sire spoke, "Ah, well, it will be … taken care of, by another source. May she have your blood, Alexander?"

Xander looked first at David, then at Buffy, and finally at Dru, "Do you prefer it out of a blood bag or from direct withdrawal?"

Dru smiled slightly, "Alexander, this must be done directly." He nodded and approached her, which she mirrored and she then hugged him closely, nestling her face into the crook of his neck, but then raised up to his ear, "This may hurt for a moment, but not for long." He felt her cool tongue trace along his neck even as his hands instinctively drew her closer and then winced in pain as her fangs pierced his skin, but then all was bliss and euphoria.

(Away)

Buffy, for her part, had to look away even as she heard Dru moan in sumptuous pleasure as she drew blood from Xander's neck – every instinct in her body was screaming at her to go over there and to rip Dru's head off, but she stopped herself with the thought that Xander had chosen to do this willfully, and that she'd last about ten seconds before he ripped her head off for unmaking one of his choices.

"He will be fine, Slayer," David purred at her even as he watched his Childe drink from an Immortal. "In fact, he'll be more than fine – being fed from by Kindred is often akin to a nigh-orgasmic experience for the one providing the vitae."

Buffy glared at him, "Hey, just because some guy gets his rocks off or a girl gets wet from a vamp bite doesn't mean we all do!"

He gave her a prime look at her rather blunt descriptions, "Do not let your feelings for young Alexander cloud your judgment, Slayer – his mind, actions and decisions are on another level from what you could possibly imagine, even as a Slayer. More to the fact, HE is on another level that you cannot comprehend."

Buffy just snorted, "Hey, I get that he's an Immortal – bid freaking deal."

David narrowed his eyes at her, "It is a 'big freaking deal', Slayer, with as many allies and enemies that he will find that he has around the world within the demonic and Kindred communities. Unlike you, who is considered to be a rather ruthless, indiscriminate killer of all things non-human, Alexander's reputation has already spread that he is not only a rather … gifted … fighter, but also as someone who will go to the wall for his friends and allies, and will not stop against his enemies – were it not for the fact that he is Immortal, there would be near open warfare among the Clans for the opportunity to Embrace him." David shuddered at this thought, which made Buffy stop, "As bad as things are now within the demonic community, should Alexander have been Embraced by some of our darker-natured Clans, I dare say that Hell would have indeed been brought to Earth, with or without your help, Slayer."

"That is true, Sire," Dru said, wiping her lips clean from Xander's blood, who stood next to her, facing away as he shook slightly. Dru had a rather dreamy look on her face, as if she was the Drusilla of old, but Buffy could feel her completely fading from her Slay-dar to the point that she was like David, a completely void, "My Alexander has many friends, he does, but many enemies who would want to hurt him. Many within the Clans wish to try and Embrace him, with or without his consent, which is why we are here. With this blood, though, I can now help him when I can."

Buffy ignored Drusilla, though, and looked at Xander, who still quivered slightly, "Xander? Are you … okay?"

"Peachy," he replied in a slightly strangled voice, but he coughed once, and then twice, before speaking again, "with a side of keen."

Buffy blinked at that and filed it away for future reuse even as Xander adamantly stayed facing away from her, "So, why no looking?"

"Full Mast," was the only reply she got, but it was from Drusilla, who had a particularly fond smile on her face even as David coughed and Xander gave a strangled grunt. "Either way, we must go, Slayer. Good evening, Kitten." With that, both Drusilla and her Sire faded from view and Xander walked away, leaving Buffy with more questions than answers.

(Later That Week)

Joyce groaned once again as she watched Xander muscle one of her statues into place at her gallery – she had conscripted him the night before with a tin of brownies to help her move an arrangement of items from the back room into a new exhibit, and even as he worked now she was pondering the benefits of Immortality even as her rather unintended help, Amanda, called out another question from the office to Xander. The pair of them had been drawing up papers all night and morning, from what Buffy had told her, that had Xander working for someone that Amanda knew, but outside of the oddly familiar answer of 'Celtic Emporium and Imports', Joyce was as in the dark as everyone else was when the pair started 'talking shop'.

Joyce found her musings, though, come to an abrupt halt as Amanda ran out of the office and Xander yelped, stumbling for his jacket even as a pair of men walked through the front of her art gallery – the first was a little taller than average, with a thin, wiry build, and while his pale skin and short, dark hair made him striking, his nose stuck out like a hawk's beak, which added to his rather comedic air as he bantered with his companion. The second was taller, and while no leaner than the first, had a bulkier build, an almost weathered tan to his skin and shorter brown hair as he sighed … a sigh that Joyce placed as her mind gave him longer hair, "Duncan MacLeod?"

"Joyce?" He looked rather startled even as his companion stepped forwards to greet her, a smile on his face, but that smile faded as there was a slight snarl from one side and Xander put himself between them, "M … Adam, be careful."

Xander had his blade level with the thin man's throat, "Back off, boyo."

The man held his hands up in the classis 'don't hurt me' pose, his face a mystery as he spoke, "Very well, young man. I had no intention of harming this fair flower," he went on in a cultured British accent, but this did nothing to lessen Xander's rather protective nature of her – it was rather sweet with the way that the young Immortal always checked on her before she went to bed and then several times a night as he either returned from patrol or made a circuit around the house, but since he was the reason for her abduction, Joyce figured that Xander was doing this more to alleviate his guilt on top of his own natural protective nature. Jenny had made mention of it once, as had Willow and a rather petulant Buffy, and while he still joked about still 'wanting to act out that scene', Xander apparently did it out of pure instinct nine times out of ten.

"Xander," Amanda said calmingly as she put away her rapier, "calm down. That's Methos, and Duncan – I've told you about them, remember? They're the good guys."

"Ah, Mandy!" Adam / Methos exclaimed happily as he swooped down and hugged the dark-haired Immortal woman tightly before bussing her on each cheek, "So good to see you again, Mandy."

Amanda just sighed disgustedly as something that sounded suspiciously like a muffled choke of laughter came from Duncan, "Not you too! Xander, look at what you've started – now Methos will NEVER leave me alone!"

"Indeed," 'Methos' purred even as he turned to Xander, who had not put away his sword. "So, this is the intrepid Alexander – a pleasure to meet you, old boy."

Xander, Joyce could see, wasn't exactly accepting of the seemingly genuine expression of welcome, "Methos? Heard about you – supposedly you have a beer tab that rivals the national debts of most third world countries, from what Amanda tells me." Joyce cocked an eyebrow at the man as Amanda giggled and Duncan didn't even bother to muffle his laughter this time.

Methos, however, didn't even miss a beat, "True, but from what I hear from Man … Amanda," he gave the Immortal woman a worried look before going on, "you inhale most Hostess snack cakes and have more comic and science fiction lore packed away in your mind than any geek imaginable."

Xander just shrugged as he lowered his blade a little more, "Well, when you find something you're good at it pays to be the best." While he may have lowered his blade, Joyce could tell by the total lack of emotion in Xander's voice that he didn't trust 'Methos' one bit.

"So, Duncan … how long have you been an Immortal?" The Immortal in question looked rather unprepared for the question as he gaped for a second, but Joyce went on, "I mean, you're obviously an Immortal with the coat and what appears to be the hilt of a katana in there, and all that I have heard, not to mention how Amanda and Xander have reacted to you not to mention that you haven't aged a day since …" Joyce stopped her mild imitation of what Xander and Buffy termed as 'Willow-babble', blushing lightly as Xander looked at her fondly and smiled.

"Nice imitation, Joyce – now all you have to do is to speed it up by three times and you're dead on."

Duncan looked rather impressed as well, but shook his head as if to clear it, "Joyce … um, well, this is rather … unexpected."

Amanda, though, cut off his hedging, "How long have you known Joyce, Darling?"

Joyce noticed that both Methos and Xander winced and moved away quickly from the pair as Duncan continued to hem and haw slightly, "Um, well, actually Joyce and I met back the mid-seventies, while she was attending college, Amanda – I … I was guest lecturing at her college for the semester in European Studies and we became friends, that's all, I swear!"

Joyce looked at Duncan oddly even as both Xander and Methos had coughing fits, though while the former added in a 'weak' into his coughs, the latter added in a 'bull shit', both of which she rather primly ignored as Amanda brought her rapier up, "He's telling the truth, Amanda – we never even kissed!"

Amanda glared at Duncan for a moment before putting her rapier away, "Very well, the matter is tabled … for now. So, Duncan, what brings you and the beer-monger here?"

Methos made as if to look insulted, but that failed horribly and he sighed, "Well, Amanda darling, we are here to check up on you and your student's progress – it's not every day that a newbie with less than two months and a head under his belt takes a Terakan Assassin, after all." Methos looked at Xander and Joyce could tell that the man was sizing him up for something, "Tell me, boy, how ever did you manage to do it? That particular Immortal had over a hundred heads to his name …"

Xander, for his part, didn't look particularly impressed as he fingered the ring that was on his right hand, "I cheated – he took Joyce prisoner, which made it personal."

Duncan's face darkened slightly, "You broke The Rules?"

Before Xander could say anything, though, Amanda stepped between them, "Hold it, you two – look, we could argue semantics and 'what if' scenarios all day and all night long, but we'd get to the same issue of every Immortal being different. Besides, Duncan, I'm teaching him the right way now – let it rest." Amanda turned to her by then, "Now, for some introductions – Joyce, you know Duncan, but this is Adam Pierson, who likes to go by Methos for some reason or another. Boys, this is my student, Alexander 'Xander' Harris – Xander, this is Adam and this is Duncan, the beer-monger and Highlander, respectively."

Joyce watched as Xander eyed both men warily at first before nodded and walking over and putting his sword away, "Welcome to the Summers Art Studio, gentlemen; might I enquire as to your being here? Business or pleasure?"

Amanda gave Xander a look, "Be nice!"

"Sorry, Amanda – must be my Irish temper." Duncan looked up at this and Joyce could see some of the hairs going up on the back of his neck as Methos snickered quietly.

"Xander," Joyce warn him, using her Hellmouth-famous 'Mother' tone, and it had the desired results – all hostility, smarminess, belligerence and attitude was gone from Xander's face and posture in 1.45 seconds, a new personal best for her, if Joyce did say so herself.

(Later)

As Amanda and Duncan argued with each other about the placement of a small urn in an equally small display, Xander found himself hard-pressed not to like the man, the legend, known as 'Methos' – Amanda had used his name several times by accident, saying 'Adam'-this and 'Methos'-that before explaining herself away, which made things a lot clearer until he met the man himself. Quite frankly, Xander was a little disappointed to find that the man who was supposedly 5000 years old and one quarter of the reason there was a Book of Revelations was exactly like he was before he became Immortal, only with a bigger nose – he hid himself in plain sight by acting the buffoon, by making light when others were set upon being serious, and only when the backs of the others were turned did you ever see the real person beneath the mask … someone who would scare them all into thinking he was a demon in and of himself.

"Tell me, Xander, how we talked into this," Methos asked as he shifted the last statue into place.

"You were making cow eyes at Joyce and she conned you into it hook, line and sinker." Xander had been forcibly restrained by Amanda to not stab Methos in the back when he had started to blatantly flirt with Joyce, but when she had not reciprocated in kind, he had become rather petulant.

"Ah, protective of her, I see." Methos was also, apparently, the originator of the con artist in them all as he tried to manipulate Xander's own feelings into a fashion that he could use, "Maybe she likes older men."

"No, she likes them about her age, not Bronze Age. Besides, why would she go for you when she could have youth and vigor?"

Methos gave him a look, "Because she wants experience and patience, young one – hell, if I felt like it, I could draw you up a copy of the Kama Sutra." He looked rather pleased with himself as he straightened up, "My tenth wife and I had fun making that book, we really did." Xander gave him a rather disturbed look that he appeared to cheerfully ignore, "But trust me, it was hell on my back."

"Alright, TMI, ROG."

Methos gave him a look, "'ROG'?"

"Really Old Guy."

"Bloody Americans …" Methos swore under his breath even as Xander patted himself on the back and marked up one on his imaginary chalkboard, which had his one and twenty others for Methos. "For that, I'm dating Joyce."

"Thank you for your attention, 'Adam'," Joyce put in suddenly, her eyes narrowing as the door to the art gallery opened, "but I am not into older men – that's my daughter's deal."

"MOM!" Xander suppressed a smirk at Buffy's screech of horror as Amanda giggled and Joyce smiled, knowing her daughter was there even without turning around, but both Methos and Duncan looked at Joyce expectedly as she giggled away.

When it became apparent that introductions were coming from Joyce, Xander stepped up to the plate, "Duncan, Adam, meet Buffy (bottle blonde), Willow (my gingi), and Giles (the occasionally stuffy Brit) – guys, meet Duncan MacLeod, of the clan MacLeod and Adam Pierson." Xander received three glares from the appropriate parties involved in his naming game, but he blithely ignored them all as Amanda walked up to him, "So, now that the pleasantries are over, why don't you tell us why you're really here?"

Duncan sighed this time, turning to Amanda, "I take it you've heard about Richie?"

Amanda nodded, her eyes suddenly moist, "Yes, I heard he was killed."

Duncan nodded at this and took a deep breath, "Amanda … I killed him."

There was dead silence in the room for over a minute – Xander had heard of 'Richie' from Amanda, how he had a nose for trouble bigger than Xander's own, and was an accomplished young thief, but while Amanda had liked him greatly, he was still a little green for Amanda's taste. It had hurt Amanda to learn of his death, and now that Duncan had admitted to it, Xander could only snort, "Typical."

"What do you mean, 'Typical'?" Duncan's voice held a hard edge to it even as his face flushed with color.

"Your student, your friend, your protégé, by all accounts, is killed by your own hand – tell me, was it an accident, or was it on purpose?"

"A demon known as Ahirman … he was playing with my mind – I didn't know it was Richie until it was too late."

The loss and sorrow in Duncan's voice was palatable, but it didn't faze Xander at all, "Again, typical – the one person who had a hope in hell of ever beating you is dead by your own hand. Truth?"

Duncan glared at him as the others looked on in astonishment, "Boy, do not speak to me like that! You have no idea what it is like to have someone play with your mind, to have no idea if what you do is of your own actions or if it's because someone else is pulling your strings."

Xander just gave him a rather twisted smile as he grabbed his jacket, "Oh, I know all about having my strings pulled, Highlander – the question is, who is pulling your strings now? Do I believe you didn't mean to do it? Yes, I do – do I care … not yet." With that, he flipped his coat on and walked away from the art studio, wondering just what in the hell had gotten into him.

(Telephone wire across from Studio)

Had Xander been looking, he would have seen a raven sitting and watching the entire conversation go down – had he been really looking, he would have been able to see into the raven's eyes and see the face of the warlock who was using the raven as a familiar, as a remote viewing source. Had anyone bothered to notice beyond that, they would have heard the laughter of one Richard Wilkins the Third as he skillfully manipulated Xander's mind into goading the Immortal Highlander – that is, of course, if anyone had bothered to look, which they didn't.

AN: Alright, that's it for this part – had a little fun in setting up some goodies for the next few chapters, but now comes the hard part in getting the others to realize that there is something seriously wrong with Xander … only he doesn't know it yet. RR, please – AR.


	4. Chapter 4

4?

AN: A little suggestive and naughty in one or two parts, but it plays to both characters involved.

AN2: Cloying in some parts – if you're diabetic, have your insulin ready.

(A month later)

Amanda held on to Buffy even as Giles did his best to restrain Willow from interfering in the fight that they beheld – it had been just over a week since Xander had spoken down to Duncan in a way that would have gotten the boy killed, if not for the quick thinking of Willow, and after a quick seeing spell, the group had been floored in finding that Alexander was not only under the temporary control of a powerful outside force, he was also being controlled by his sub-conscious, a place that held the power and teachings of his Quickenings, more importantly that of the Immortal Terakan. He'd been freed of the outside force that was controlling him in part, having had a ward put up around him by Giles to ward off such attempts to control him again, but sadly there was not a thing they could do about the influence of the Terakan – as Amanda had explained to Buffy not long ago, it wasn't uncommon for a Quickening to change the way that an Immortal acted, having used her own affiliation for redheads a while back (which would probably explain why she had taken to Richie so quickly …) and, if things went well, Xander would possibly have a chance to clean out his mind with another Quickening taken from a headhunter that had tracked him down a few hours ago. Naturally, Xander had accepted the challenge, but currently was on the losing end of the battle as the hunter was using every dirty trick in the book, but not doing too badly as he was just always a hair too slow to catch the other guy in the act.

"We have to help him!" Amanda adjusted her hold on Buffy even as the Slayer struggled from her position of inferior leverage.

"I've told you a thousand time, Slayer, that there are RULES," Amanda grunted, "and one of them is no interference from anyone, any time." She watched as Xander surged to his feet, slamming his fist into the other man's groin so hard that the other Immortal rose from the ground a good six inches even as Giles winced from his position of holding Willow, "You see? Xander's doing just fine."

Buffy and Willow both winced at this sight even as Xander spun around, grabbed his fallen blade and drove it deep into the gut of the other Immortal, driving him into a nearby wall and pinning him there with a scream – neither one knew just what to make of their Immortal friend in this state, a true life-or-death situation on the highest terms, as he had been beaten nearly to the point of final death before surging back in an nearly animalistic fashion. He'd not only changed so much as a person in the past few months, be it due to his obtained Quickenings, his ever-changing status as a student of both the California Education System and as Amanda's protégé, and as their friend, but also … as Xander, the guy they thought they knew – he was colder, more calculating, even less goofy, but according to Amanda, that was just an acclamation period, and he might, one day, gain some of that back … and both hoped he really would. This Xander, who was picking up his opponent's blade and stalking forwards, was not a Xander either one of them liked as he said something and then … and then decapitated the man.

Nobody said a thing as the dead Immortal's head hit the ground, nobody needed to as the electrical storm of the Quickening overtook their friend and blew off one of the last remaining portions of the old factory, which seemed to be the favored place for Immortals to duel in Sunnydale; they watched in mute fascination as bolt after bolt of electricity hit Xander, as he let out scream after scream until finally, mercifully, the Quickening ended and he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Moments later, Buffy and Willow were both at Xander's side, both of them pointedly ignoring both Giles and Amanda removing the headless corpse from the wall, and neither girl wanted to think about anything else as they both checked Xander over – they had seen his regenerative capabilities, healing from wounds that would permanently enfeeble a normal human, even coming back from the dead several times after a quick 'spar' with Amanda, but neither of them had ever seen him in this kind of condition after a true fight before. His clothes were bloody and charred, ripped and slashed, and quite frankly would see the burning pile before they would see the inside of his closet again, and he could stand to use a shower, but he was whole, yet unconscious.

"Buffy, Willow, get back from him now!" They looked at Amanda, who was looking at Xander warily, "Trust me, just let him go and move away."

"But … why?" Willow held Xander close even as he began to stir, "He's going to be okay, right?"

As if to answer her question, Xander's arms went around Willow's waist and he pushed his face between her blouse-covered, breasts, inhaling deeply before letting out a sigh and snuggling in – Buffy blinked at this, feeling vaguely gypped even as Willow blushed heavily, Giles coughed and Amanda sighed. After a few minutes, though, Buffy got tired of it, so she grabbed Xander's arms from around Willow, "Xander, let go of Willow, now!"

He opened his eyes, showing her a glacial look she had never seen before, and snarled at her from the depths of his soul before snuggling back into Willow's chest.

Amanda sighed and pulled her away, "Buffy, after an Immortal takes a Quickening, we often go through what we call the Three F's."

"Huh?"

"Feed, Fight or Fu … Fornicate," Amanda explained with only a little hesitation on her part, but not an ounce of embarrassment – Giles coughed, Buffy felt herself blush a molten color and poor Willow looked like she was about to spontaneously combust. Amanda went on, and Buffy fancied that she sounded more than a bit jealous at Willow's position, "The how's and the why's of it are fairly nebulous, but needless to say he's going to be like this for a while, a few hours, tops, so Willow, get comfortable but don't be afraid to smack him on the snout if he gets too friendly."

At this, Xander growled again, but said nothing.

Amanda jerked back at this and gave forth an affronted noise before she walked over and grabbed Xander by his ear, eliciting a yelp of pain from him, "Young man, you do NOT growl at me! Now sit, heel and be good or no treats for you tonight."

Xander did as he was told, whimpering slightly as he did.

"Amanda … why is he acting …" Giles didn't finish his sentence, feeling oddly insecure around the woman who was ordering perhaps the single most hard-headed non-Slayer he had ever known, himself included.

Amanda turned and smiled at him, "Oh, don't worry, Rupert – I've found that Alexander's subconscious is oddly canine in nature, so when he's off in one of these little spells, it works to play to it rather than to fight it, as he gets back into his right frame of mind quicker." She smiled and cocked an eyebrow at the back of the young man's head, "Of course, last time he was like this … he was VERY affectionate, especially when he and I-"

"Please," Willow begged, who was still blushing a bright shade of vermilion as Xander continued to look at her, smiling curiously as he did, "enough! As much as I liked Xander's hugs and even the nuzzling, I'm with Oz!"

"Oh, don't be such a baby about it, Willow," Amanda chided the young woman as she went over and stood Xander up before hugging him close, "he's just being overly affectionate. Later one, he won't even remember it happened and your relationship with Oz is safe." As if to prove this, Xander nuzzled her neck and pulled her closer, "You see? It's as if what happened with you never happened in his mind – we go to a rather primal state when we're like this, though it's different for everyone. I, for example," she went on even as Xander picked her up, allowing her to wrap her legs around his waist, "generally eat anything in sight – if I just went to the market, I'm going back the next day because the cupboards are bare."

Buffy narrowed her eyes at Amanda, who looked to be enjoying herself far too much, "So, you're going to take advantage of him while he's like this?"

Amanda shot her a withering glare, "No, child – I won't in the respects that he's following some sort of instinct, as the sooner he's done, the sooner he's back to normal." Buffy didn't like the look in Amanda's eyes as she made Xander let her down and then collected his things, "We'll be seeing you tomorrow, children – hopefully, by then, he'll be better." With that, Amanda led Xander out of the old factory, leaving the Witch, the Watcher and a Slayer alone there to ponder what to do.

(Next Morning)

He groaned as the light flickered against his eyes, the sun bidding him to wake up even as his body ached in places he wasn't sure were supposed to ache, so he pulled the silk sheets up over his head and buried his head under the big, fluffy pillow to block it out.

Hold on – silk sheets? He didn't have silk sheets on his bed, he preferred high thread-count cotton sheet … only Amanda had silk sheets on her bed. He slowly pulled his head out from under his pillow and, as he was still under the sheet, was greeted by the unclad torso and chest of Amanda, as she was on her right side and apparently looking at him … and from all appearances it was somewhat chilly in the room. As he pulled the sheet off of his head, he belatedly noticed that he, too, was naked, so he asked a single, very intelligent question, "Huh?"

Amanda smiled at him, her hair a mess and her body ripe to be picked (again, if his nose told him anything) as she pressed her nakedness against his, "Mmm, morning, Xander. Did we have fun last night?"

He blinked, doing his best to remember what HAD happened last night – if he'd had sex with her, he damned-well wanted to remember it for two reasons, one of them being the good memories, and the second as a last memory before Duncan took his head off his body! "Uh, from all appearances, I'd say yes, but if I could remember it I'd be even better off."

She smiled and hugged him closer, whispering into his ear, "Don't worry about it, Xander – you didn't disappoint me one bit."

He smiled slightly, but then frowned, "Oh, so now I can die happy in the knowledge that my first sex was good."

She pulled back, arching a dark eyebrow at him, "Die?"

"Duncan's going to kill me, Amanda," he said to her, as if explaining things to a small child. "You and him, remember? Couple, in the relationship way? Stop me when this sounds familiar here…"

She rolled her eyes and rolled him onto his back, climbing on top of him and not bothering to cover her naked and attention-drawing chest, "Xander, listen to me very carefully – Duncan and I are friends, yes, even occasional bedmates, but he can't dictate with whom I sleep with. I mean, it's not like I go to bed with every Jacques, David and Mikhail I meet, now, and more to the fact, he hasn't exactly been one hundred percent loyal to me, what with that Tessa and Doctor Anne of his, though I do have to admit that from what I had learned from Richie, Tessa was special, one in a million for a mortal."

He was doing his best to keep his mind on more important matters, like the fact that he WASN'T going to get permanently made a foot shorter, but with the way she was wiggling on top of him … well, Xander was fighting a losing battle, "Amanda … don't tease me."

She smiled and leaned forwards, putting her hands on either side of his head, her eyes smoky and her lips brushing his, "Oh, Xander, I don't tease when I'm already naked – I merely … encourage for my partner to take the initiative."

He grinned and pulled her into a searing kiss before rolling them both over into the middle of the bed – whatever plans they had, they could wait.

(Sunnydale High School Library – later)

Joyce smirked lightly as both Willow and Buffy growled in unison while Amanda and Xander both walked into the room – Amanda was dressed as she always was, pants, a blouse and her jacket, but Xander seemed to have a little extra gait in his step as his trenchcoat covered a pair of black slacks, dress shoes and a dark blue silk shirt, "Hello, Xander, Amanda – how are you both?"

"Perfect, now," Amanda purred slightly in a tone that made Joyce smirk even more – she knew that tone rather well, actually, but apparently both Willow and Buffy knew it as they growled and both stood up, glaring at both Immortals while Rupert came out of his office.

Willow was first out of the gate, "Where have you been, Xander," and Buffy was just a touch behind her, "Some of us have better things to do with our day than you wait around for you two."

Xander removed his trenchcoat and put it on the back of a chair, sitting with his feet up on the table and smiling slightly, "I've been at the house, Willow, and I realize I'm keeping you from the mall, Buffy, but I wanted to make sure I was presentable, well, Amanda and I both did."

"You are very presentable, Xander," Joyce chipped in, drawing the glares of both girls, a cough from Rupert, a chuckle from Xander and a smirk from Amanda before she went on. "From what both Buffy and Willow tell me, though, you were a bit … out of sorts last night, Xander – are you alright?" Willow had blushed heavily at first when Buffy had told her what had gone on the previous night, and rightfully so, and they all agreed that Oz was to be kept out of the loop until Xander told him himself.

Xander looked over at her a smiled a little more, "Oh, I'm in complete control of my faculties now, Joyce – I have been told, though, that I owe Willow an apology for some nuzzling and Buffy for snapping at her. Girls, I'm sorry – not sure what I was doing, but I am sorry."

"Hey, you snapped at Amanda too, Xander," Buffy pointed out with a tone in her voice that Joyce had to admit that she didn't like. "Aren't you going to apologize to her, too?"

Amanda chuckled at this even as Rupert began to clean his glasses, "Oh, Buffy, he apologized to me several times last night – don't worry about it." Joyce looked at her and Amanda sent her a slight wink that both girls missed, but Rupert did not as he went into a sudden coughing fit, "I say, Ripper, are you quite alright?"

"Yes, quite, Amanda," the 'elder' Briton said after a few seconds before replacing his glasses on his face. Once he sat down, Rupert looked over at Xander, "Xander … first and foremost, I must ask if you are absolutely sure you are back to normal?"

Xander just smirked at him, "G-man, when have I ever been normal?"

Joyce giggled at this even as Amanda joined Buffy and Willow in a surprised bark of laughter, but Giles did not join them, "Xander … how many times do I have to tell you to not call me that infernal nickname?"

"At least once more, G-man, and to answer your question … I feel better, in fact I haven't felt this good in a long time." Xander stretched out and grinned a little more as he saw Willow's, Buffy's and Joyce's eyes follow him, not to mention heard Amanda's appreciative purr, "I think whatever hold the Terakan had on me is gone, but now I have something else to deal with.

He watched them all pale a little, except for Amanda, that is, and he went on, "The Immortal's name was Rafael Guzman De La Vega, and he was something of an aficionado in the ways of the occult. He's done more than a few rituals out of his home in New Mexico and made some pretty hefty deals with some … darker … individuals." He reached into his pocket and removed several pieces of paper, sliding them over to Giles, "Amanda said I was writing these names all night, regardless of what else was going on – any chance you know some of them, G-man?"

Giles looked the names over, paling with several of them, but before he could say anything, Willow shot out of her seat and outright glared at Amanda, "You took advantage of him!"

Buffy wasn't too far behind, again, "You had sex with Xander!"

Amanda just leaned back in her seat, putting her feet up and trailing one toe up and down his shin, a grin on her face that Xander didn't like the meaning of, "What's the matter, girls? Angry that I got to him first?"

Buffy was almost spewing smoke out of her nostrils, "He's over a thousand years younger than you, for one!"

Willow wasn't that far off, with the steam almost coming out of her ears, "And he's only 17 for another!"

He sighed, "So what?"

Buffy and Willow both looked at him, "So what? SO WHAT!"

He nodded, "Buffy, Willow, let's get a few things into the open here – first, I'm going to look 17 for the rest of ETERNITY, so I can't exactly go by looks for what is and is not an acceptable relationship. And B, what or who I do is not any of your concern." Both girls jerked back as if he had slapped them, but even as he put his feet on the ground and leaned forwards with his elbows on the table and fingertips touching, he went on, "And next, I'm a big boy now, and if I can't say a thing about who you two sleep with, then you two can't say a thing about me and Amanda."

Both girls looked ready to break either into sobbing messes or into open revolt, but Joyce spoke up then, her brow arched, and not to him, "Amanda … is this true? You are in a … sexual relationship with Xander?"

Amanda nodded, not a touch of remorse or guilt in her eyes or on her face as she put her feet back down, "That's true, Joyce, though it's not just sex between Xander and I – if anything, it's more like friendship with benefits. I am not so self-conscious that I'd ask him to not have any kind of relationship with another person, male, female, mortal or Immortal, Joyce, just as I hope he knows that I have other relationships. Being Immortal," she went on to say, "precludes pretty much all normal standards of any kind of relationship you would know, even ones between Vampires and their supposed Slayers," she shot Buffy a glare, causing the girl to sit down.

Joyce felt her 'protective mother hen' feathers starting to get ruffled a little and bits of the Summers Women Temper (patent pending) began to flare in her eyes, but Willow stood up then, her double-patented Resolve Face firmly in place, "So, he's just your little plaything? Is that it?"

"Willow, be quiet and sit down." Joyce stood up and Willow sat down, her face a mystery as she leaned over the table and spoke directly to Amanda, "Listen to me carefully, Amanda – if Xander gets hurt because of one of your little flings, rest assured that your Immortality won't save you from me."

Xander looked at the two women and then looked at Giles, clucking off to the side, which made the 'elder' Briton burst out into nigh-hysterical laughter, "My boy, you're crackers!" Both women looked at Giles, who tried to quickly compose himself, but failed as he went back into laughter for several more minutes.

Joyce, Amanda, Willow and Buffy all looked at one another and then sighed, "Men."

"Hey!" His affronted cry went unnoticed for a bit as the girls began to laugh, the tension in the room dying out over several minutes until Giles was able to question him again.

"Xander, what are you going to do now?"

"Well, G-man, I'm going to see if I can persuade Amanda to go with me to New Mexico to see what this guy had, as we spent about an hour transferring it into my name earlier today, hence part of the reason we were late. Some of the memories I got from him … well, let's just say that the quicker I clean that place out and I sell that place, the quicker I'll feel better."

Joyce perked up at this, "Any art?"

Xander shrugged, "A few period pieces from Mexico and Spain, Joyce – don't worry, I'll bring them back to you."

Willow looked up, her eyes wide, "Gifts? And none for us?"

"We'll think about it," Amanda said somewhat chillily as she stood. "Come, Xander, we have much to do and a little time to do it."

(Next Day, En Route to Villa – Darneyville, New Mexico)

It had been a little over twelve hours since they had left Sunnydale, and already there were ill portents to their journey – when Amanda insisted that they take her Ferrari, it refused to crank, so they had been 'forced' to take Xander's new (though title transfer of a dead Immortal) SUV to New Mexico; when they stopped in a small town known as Darneyville, though, for some lunch, both tires had inexplicably blown out and they were now waiting for some hick-ville grease monkey to finish figuring out how to change the tires out without damaging the chrome on the rims. Needless to say, Amanda was a touch miffed, so miffed in fact that she had completely missed the tingling sensation of another Immortal in their vicinity, but he didn't.

She was taller than Amanda, though not by much, with honey blonde hair that his eyes could tell was natural, though she seemed to put streaks of brown into it for some reason or another; her skin was creamy, with a light dusting of freckles on her arm, and she dressed as the nearly-quintessential flower child, but he knew that she could feel him with the way she looked around as an older man pulled her away from the shop that they had left. Quite frankly, she was stunning, in an Earth Mother kind of way, and Xander felt something inside of him stir … and for once, it was not his libido – there was something different about her, and he wasn't sure what.

"Finally," Amanda growled half an hour later as the mechanic began to lower the car from the hydraulic lift, often giving her a look of lust mixed with more than a little fear as she calmly worked a penknife over with a piece of whetstone. "Pay the man and let's get out of here, Xander – this place reeks of … something unpleasant."

Xander took a deep lungful and smiled, "Ah, Amanda, you just have no taste for fine barbeque." She shot him an irritated look as she walked forwards and paid the mechanic before walking back, "Besides, Amanda, we have some other business here."

"Oh, and what is that, pray tell?"

He smiled at her, "Well, I was going to go over to that florist over there and get you some flowers, but if you don't want them…"

She perked up almost immediately, "Ah, Xander, you're learning – flowers, jewelry and chocolate are the quickest way to a woman's heart!"

He shook his head and went off to the florist, the same shop that the other Immortal woman had gone into, and began to pick through several bunches of decidedly-lacking bouquets for several minutes – if he turned up with any of these to Amanda, she'd gut him, repeatedly.

"_Recrear_," a soft voice said even as he watched the flowers plump up and look as fresh as if they had just been picked. He looked over and saw the Earth Mother standing there, a near halo around her head from the overhead light reflecting from her hair, "This is Holy Ground, stranger."

He nodded, "I am not here for your head, _pulcher_."

She knew Latin, apparently, as she blushed and looked down, stammering out slightly, "T-t-thank you."

He quirked a grin at her, as he was unable to resist the opening, "For the compliment, or not being a head hunter?"

She blushed a little more, looking up with a semi-smile on her face, "Both, but more f-f-for the compliment."

He shrugged, pouring on the charm a little more, "What kind of compliment was it? As far as I am concerned, it was truth." He picked up the bouquet of flowers, "Alexander Harris, of Sunnydale, California."

She winced slightly, "I am T-tanya, currently."

"And she's my wife," came a harsh voice from in the direction of the front door. A rough-looking man walked over and grabbed 'Tanya' by the arm, "Stay away from my wife, boy."

Xander narrowed his eyes slightly, more than a little of De La Vega's mentality comeing to the front, "Your wife was merely offering me some advice on flowers, sir – I meant no disrespect towards her or yourself, I merely was offering her my name."

The man snarled at him, "Boy, if you don't get out of town now-" The man's eyes suddenly widened as he felt a sudden pressure on his crotch as Xander pulled a downward-hanging knife he kept at the small of his back and placed it there.

"I fully intend to, good sir – with individuals like yourself here, making threats like that, I doubt Darneyville will be anything more than a ghost town in the near future." Xander pulled his blade back and looked over at 'Tanya', who was repressing a smile as her husband jerked back, "Should we meet again, fair Tanya, I bid thee farewell."

Tanya nodded at him as he backed off, "Blessed Be, Alexander." She was pulled out of the shop as he went to pay for the flowers and he heard the doors of a truck shut and said vehicle tear off down the street.

"Ah see ya met Jeb," the shop owner, an older man with a missing left eye, said with a sad shake of his head. "Shame what's happened to him over the years, and all 'cause of that wife of his, Tanya." The man took the money offered and leaned forwards, "Sonny, if I'se was ya, I'd git out of here rhat quick, now, y'hear? Jeb's … well, Jeb's not a nice feller."

Xander took his change and his flowers, "Thank you for the warning, sir, but for future reference … neither am I."

"Hearsay," the man went on, as if Xander had not spoken, "she be a demon! You ever hear a thing like that?"

Xander grinned slightly, "Yeah, a few times – been accused of it a few times, myself, though by a woman about my skills in bed."

The man barked out suddenly in laughter, calming quickly, "No, son, Ah mean she a real demon! Sure, she look nice, but ya get her made and she chucks fire at ya."

Xander nodded, "Then I'll not make her mad, then. Farewell, sir." Xander left the shop and met up with Amanda, who was waiting in the idling car, handing her the flowers, "For you, fair maiden."

She sniffed the flowers and smiled at him, "So, who was she?"

He sighed unhappily, "An unfortunate Immortal caught up in a marriage to a bully – part of me wants to find her and gut the guy, but the other part of me is telling me to leave it alone."

Amanda looked at him seriously, "Xander, just leave it alone – as much of a good idea as you may think it is, gutting the man isn't going to solve anything. In fact, with your luck, I'd bet he would come back as an Immortal."

Xander sighed and put on his seatbelt, then putting the car into gear, "You're probably right, Amanda." With that, they were off to the villa.

(Next day – Villa courtyard)

Amanda looked over at her equally-naked companion and smiled as he continued to slather oil on his body, making for a very nice picture, "Darling, have I ever told you that you were beautiful?"

He looked over at her, taking in her form and his body starting to show appreciation, "You called me a 'beautiful sex god' a few mornings ago, as I recall, but not beautiful alone – thank you, Amanda. As you can tell," he indicated his lower half, "my inner self thinks you are quite fetching yourself."

She smirked and poured more oil on herself, "Nice to know that I still have it."

Later, with hints of tans and with clothing on, the pair retired to the library of the Spanish-type Villa – made completely out of stone and wood, it was not exactly what one could call 'up to date' as the most advanced piece of equipment in the house, outside of the locks, was the indoor plumbing and water well. It did, however, have a library that housed a moderate collection of occult tomes and writings, objects of various sizes and shapes, several pieces of rare art and, according to Xander, a disturbing amount of porn on VHS. He had suggested selling the place after all was transferred and upgraded, but Amanda put a halt on that plan, telling him he needed a retreat at some point or another.

From his memories, Amanda knew that the beings that De La Vega had dealt with in the past weren't completely bent on world destruction or domination, but rather some were just waiting on the magical adept to fulfill promises of a place of retreat for their worshipers, their slaves and, for one, a place for her harem girls to recuperate. While her student wasn't exactly at ease with most of the deals that had been struck and, according to what he remembered, were binding on a level that, if he were to break them for any reason other than a very good one, there would be stiff retributions to be faced by him.

Case in point – one of the beings, a seven-foot tall, slim-built, grey-skinned demoness known as Qualitaco of an Infernal realm, as she announced herself, had shown up not twenty minutes before and had demanded to know why her link with De La Vega had been severed; Xander had explained to said demoness why and how he had come to own the place. Qualitaco had agreed that, due to certain circumstances, Xander would not be bound to all of the agreement, but he would, however, have to sacrifice several unblemished goats to appease her as a one-time deal; Amanda had tried to step in, but the demoness had kept her away with a barrier of some kind while Xander agreed to it – he looked sick while speaking, but Amanda could tell he was doing what he thought was right. Qualitaco had smiled at him, revealing several rows of sharp teeth in her overly-large mouth, pinched him on the cheeks and called him cute before disappearing in a gout of fire.

Of course, Amanda had not let this go even as Xander watched her pace back and forth in front of his new desk, making the necessary changes and such to the ownership papers, "Mon Dieu, Xander! Do you KNOW what she's going to use those goats for?"

He looked up at her, "According to De La Vega's memories, she uses them for sustenance, as a means to see into this world, and parts of their body for sexual pleasure, specifically their hind femurs." He looked away at her look of revulsion, filling in two last lines before stuffing the transfer papers into a marked envelope, "Amanda, calm down – that's an original Apache quilt you're wearing a hole in."

She turned and glared at him as he sealed the envelope, "Xander, don't try and be funny now! You just made a deal with a demon woman!"

"And I'm not trying to be funny – look," he pointed to her feet and the slightly frayed track pattern. "That aside, yes, I KNOW I just made a deal with her, but it was a pre-existing one and it's better than the alternative."

Amanda glared at him, "And that would be?"

"Being her love slave for the next two hundred years – she's something of a dom, if De La Vega recalls correctly." She looked at him oddly and he went on, "Amanda, how long have you truly dealt with the demonic side of the world?"

"She shrugged, "A few dozen years, sixty, tops."

He nodded, "I have the memories of a few people who, on top of my own, have over 300 years of demonic experience – trust me that deal I made was the best I was going to do." He stood up and walked over to where she was standing, going behind her and wrapping his arms around her lithe body and massaging her front slightly, making her relax, "Amanda, I swear to you that I will do nothing that will, knowingly, one day harm you – I would never hurt someone I love."

She turned around and wrapped her arms around him, "Xander, you love me?"

He nodded and kissed her on the nose, "You helped me out when I was in a dark place, you taught me to survive, you even forgave me when I made massive mistakes – for those reasons alone, I owe you a lot, but I love you for you, Amanda."

She looked up at him and smiled, kissing him on the lips for several seconds before pulling back, "Okay, Xander, I'll trust you, for now." She then looked around, "So, what pieces are going to Joyce?"

(2 days later – Sunnydale)

Xander and Amanda walked towards the Library, having dropped off the rest of the art to Joyce at her gallery, art that had made Joyce make appreciable noises like a small rodent before she dashed off to get this reference book or that, and they left her to her business; Xander had an uneasy feeling in his stomach as they approached, giving Amanda a look that she returned with interest as they walked into the room and stopped dead in their tracks.

There, standing in the middle of the room, was Angelus, vamped out, and Buffy was standing between the vampire and Giles, who had a crossbow in his hands, pleading for a chance to hear them out; Xander didn't even bother to think, he reached inside of his duster and pulled out his basketed broadsword with a murderous yank, the hiss of steel on leather filling the room as he stalked forwards, "Hello, Angelus – I hoped you enjoyed hell because I'm sending you right back there."

Buffy jerked forwards, "NO!"

Xander hesitated for a second, his hate for the vampire in front of him cooling only a few degrees, "Get out of my way, Buffy."

"He's Angel!"

"Prove it." This made her pause for a second even as the vampire winced and spread his hands in a manner that called for peace.

"Xander … I am Angel, not Angelus."

He snarled even as he heard Amanda unsheathe her sword, "Shut up, Vampire! Another word leaves that mouth of yours and I kill whoever I have to, to dust you!" Buffy winced at this as the others took a step back, but he didn't care – his hand, his entire body, was shaking with as much restraint as he was forcing himself to use in order to not attack, "Buffy, you have one minute to PROVE to me that he's not Angelus – the soul spell hit Dru, if you recall."

"He's not Angelus, boy," another voice said from the shadows. Out walked a man dressed in pimp's clothing and smoking a cigar, not looking particularly happy about being there or about the situation itself, "Back down, kid – this has nothing to do with you."

"That son of a bitch killed me, you son of a bitch – it has EVERYTHING to do with me. Who are you?"

"Whistler, a balance demon for the Powers That Be … and I'm under orders to make sure Angel-boy here doesn't go poof, regardless of how much I'd like to see that." Whistler looked from the boy, Harris, to Angel, who looked down in shame, "Trust me, Rat Breath, if I had my way, Harris here would get to take yer head off and dance in yer ashes, but I've got my orders – we're gone, so say your goodbyes."

"No." Whistler stops and turns to Angel, who looked defiant, "I'm not leaving Sunnydale or Buffy, and that's final."

Whistler only arched an eyebrow and then jerked his thumb over at Xander, who was restrained only by Amanda's hand, "Ya wanna be in the same city as him? Did the Powers forget to give you a sense of survival along with yer soul?"

Angel shook his head, looking from Whistler to Xander, "No, Whistler, I need to make this up to him – he deserves that much."

Whistler merely shot him an annoyed look, "Ya can't make him mortal again, Rat Breath, or take away those ten hours ya tortured him with yer childe – trust me, the only way you'll make anything up to him is letting him dust ya, and the Powers won't let that happen."

Harris gave him a black look, "I don't care what your Powers say, demon, his ass is mine to destroy!"

"Not in your very long lifetime, Harris," Whistler told him with a disgusted tone. "They have plans for him, and they won't take to your mucking around with their plans even more than you already have." He took a last drag off of his cigar before he put it down, "You see, it involves several old prophecies and, if it's done right, he becomes human again."

Harris gave him a cold smile, "Good – maybe I'll get to see him human one day and we'll see how HE likes being tortured." The boy turned to Angel, who looked very pale by this point, "Doesn't that sound fun, you bastard?"

"You shall not harm him, Child," sudden voice said – it was deep, purring, almost mechanical, sounding just like Darth Vader's as Giles and Willow both gasped and clutched their heads. It was an impressive sight as a dark-cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows, radiating power and pure feeling as it glided forwards and slid to a stop not far in front of Xander.

Xander looked very unimpressed as he spoke, "Lose the Emperor Palpatine look – you can't pull it off and, quite frankly, it's cheesy."

The being drew the hood away from its face to reveal the face of a woman, apparently of African descent, with long black hair, red lips, dark eyes and a slightly angular face as she scowled at him, "I happen to think otherwise, mortal."

Xander grinned at her, "Sorry, toots – Immortal."

She narrowed her eyes at him again, "That is immaterial – I find myself in need of this lower being, and your destroying him … disrupts my plans. Cease, and you shall live." Whistler opened his mouth to say something but she flung her hand out and a wave of power slammed into the demon, "Silence, lowly balance demon – your words have no meaning here any longer. Leave."

Whistler scowled at her, looked at Angel and then at Harris before he stepped back into the shadows – this was one battle he wasn't going to win, let alone fight. With any luck, The Powers would find a way to counter her interference …

She turned back to them, "I have told you I require him to exist now – what must be done to allow him to exist."

Xander snarled slightly, his anger boiling, but not as high as it once was, allowing his mind to catch up with him, "Get him out of Sunnydale, out of California, out of America, if you can manage it. If he's in the local area, I can't guarantee his continued existence."

The dark-skinned woman nodded at this slowly, "I see your point, lowly human, but while he will not he in this California, he will be within your country – would … New Jersey, suffice?"

Xander caught Angel's wince and disgusted look and grinned slightly, "Only if he can live in a sewage treatment plant – it won't be quite like killing him for good, but he'll suffer."

The woman smiled at Xander, a little fire showing in her eyes, "Suffering – I think I may like you, mortal."

"It's a shame that you won't tell them the truth, Jasmine," a new voice said, a rich tenor and male. Xander rolled his eyes and turned to see a man in a finely tailored black silk suit, a blood red shirt and black silk tie, with long brown hair, a tanned, weathered face and a slightly amused look on his face, walk out of the shadows, "After all, do you really think they would help you if they knew the truth behind your actions?"

'Jasmine' snarled at the man, "Stay out of his, Old One! This is my very survival we are dealing with here."

The man smirked and then looked over at the Immortal Alexander, "Young man, that is a dark goddess named Jasmine, who wishes to use the ensouled vampire to her own ends to get a mortal body for her spirit to inhabit – while I am certainly no fan of the vampire's, I would ask that you put aside your animosity and not agree to her proposal."

The Immortal looked at him and then at Jasmine, "And what would she do if she got her body?"

He sighed, "What else? She'd try and destroy the world, or at the very least, to rule it."

Jasmine hissed savagely even as he watched the assembled humans, and vampire, turn on her, the two Immortals advancing swords-first, "This is not over, Louis." With a gout of fire, she disappeared from the room.

Several minutes passed and all was quiet, a quiet that was broken when Alexander turned and lashed out with his sword, severing the hamstrings of the vampire, much to Louis' amusement – the vampire howled in agony as it fell to the floor and Alexander smirked, "Now, Angelus, let's talk, shall we?"

"NO!" He watched as the Slayer barreled into Alexander's side, knocking him away, "I won't let you kill him!"

"This is your one warning, Buffy – move, or die." Louis had to admit that the level tone in the boy's voice, let alone the serious look on his face, would have been more than enough to move him, had he been in he Slayer's position, but he wasn't in the Slayer's position, so he didn't HAVE to be moved; sadly, though, he did have to act.

"Might I offer a suggestion?" Xander looked over at the suit-clad man, his internal weird-shit-o-meter going off like a nuke hitting an ant farm, the man stepping forwards with a smile, "How about a compromise? I can, in the stead of The Morons … er … The Powers, move Angelus to a location that would be mutually beneficial for all, thus keeping him away from you, Alexander, and accessible to the Powers."

Buffy, her heart hammering after Xander's declaration of an ultimatum, wanted to kiss the man who was setting of her Slayer Sense like nobody had before, for offering a way for her Angel to stay in a solid, non-dusty form. She understood that Xander had issues with Angelus, but Angelus, by Xander's own admission, wasn't Angel, "Deal."

"Not yet," Xander fired back instantly. "How in the hell do I know he has his soul and won't lose it as soon as he's out of earshot? I don't trust him, or anyone, without proof – ever."

Louis nodded, "A good policy, young man – the Watcher can perform a simple seeing spell, I am sure, to show you that he does indeed have a soul."

"Y … yes, quite right," Ripper, an old favorite of his, stuttered quickly, bustling off to gather the components. Minutes later, the spell done, and Alexander could see the results for himself as the Watcher spoke again, "Xander, this is Angel."

Xander smiled at Angel, "Hi, Angel." With that said, he swung his sword and cut the vampire deeply across his stomach, "I hope you rot in hell for all eternity." Xander turned on his heel and walked out of the Library at a brisk pace, Amanda not far behind him – he needed to hit something and would prefer it to not be something breathing or that could feel pain.

Even as he watched the Slayer tend to the fallen vampire, the Wicca walked up to him, hesitantly, "Excuse me, but who are you?"

He smiled winningly at her, feeling her inner darkness beginning to grow slightly as he did, "I, my dear, have gone by many names over the years – please, though, call me Louis." He reached into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out a card, "Firstly, Angelus, be ready and say your farewells – you leave in five minutes. Secondly, young Wicca, if you ever need anyone damned for all eternity in the lower pits of hell, I'm the man to call – Caio." With that, he stepped back into the shadows and, once he was gone, he laughed uproariously; his plans were back on track now that Jasmine was temporarily dealt with.

Willow looked first at where the man had gone, and then down at Angel even as Giles walked over to her, "I ask that you give me that card, Willow – I will not allow you to hold anything that 'man' has freely given."

Oz looked at him, "Who was he, Giles?"

Giles growled, "An old acquaintance of mine, Oz, who goes by a name of Louis Cypher."

Willow's mind made the connection to just what the name really was meant to be and she blanched – she had just taken a card from and spoken to the Devil Himself. This was not good.

AN: I've looked over the notes I have for the rest of this chapter and I figure this is a good place to stop this one – what do you think? Review, please.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

AN: Okay, here's what's happened in the gap here – Giles was sacked after Buffy's 'test', Gwen came in, Gwen went away in a body bag, Wuss showed up and not long after Faith did, too. Pretty much everything has gone per-canon, save Kakistos' arrival, which shall be taken care of, presently.

AN2: Also, could be a little Wesley bashing in here – it will go away … eventually … so please, bear with it.

(December 2nd)

Faith felt her guts clench in several different directions as Kakistos stepped out of the shadows, his hooves clicking against the concrete as he did while his vamp minions all began to laugh as she trembled – she'd watched him slowly torture her Watcher, Linda, to death over the course of hours, stripping her flesh away from her body, defiling her body in ways that still made her shiver, and all the while Linda was screaming until she screamed herself hoarse.

Her shivers translated itself to the two people at her side – one was her sister Slayer, Buffy Summers, a girl who half of the time was just short of openly reviling her, loathing her very existence, but the other time they were on the same page, the same damned word, and they were hot to the point they could predict the other's movements, copying them as they were done. The other … he was just above a vamp in her opinion, and only just because the others vouched for him – 'Xander' was an Immortal, just like the guy who had helped Kakistos torture Linda, but Red was the first to jump to his defense in that he was cool, and if pressed Faith could admit that; he and that chick, Amanda, had taken her into their shared home (THAT had really screwed with her mind, learning that Amanda was over a thousand years old and Xander was an Immortal for less than a year, almost six months, actually). Buffy held a stake on one hand and her lips were quirked into an odd smile while Xander's hand held his sword, his eyes were flat and lips drawn into a flat line – they themselves were different in that Faith knew that Xand did not hesitate to call BS on Buffy, that Buffy and he weren't exactly friends even though she could tell that Buffy (who had been with a vamp of all things) and Red (who was with Wolfie) both held a major yen for the guy, and that the pair, a Slayer and an Immortal, had different ideas on how to do the deed on the whole Slaying gig, traditional versus modern. Both tightened their grips in their weapons and took up stances next to her as another man walked out of the shadows, the Immortal who killed Linda … eventually.

Xander's gut tightened even as he slipped his hand back into his trench coat to grab his 'secret' weapon, a snub nosed .357 he kept just in case – the guy was old, at least Amanda's age by the feel he was giving off, of Asian descent, short and wrinkled like a damned bloodhound, but he had no weapons … which meant he was either really dumb, or really good, and Xander's money was on the latter as the vamp, one fugly vamp at that, spoke, "Hello, Faith."

Buffy could feel Faith shiver next to her as the vamp spoke, but given her own past with vamps, especially powerful and old ones who were evil, she couldn't blame her sister Slayer any as she said nothing.

Kakistos smiled at the two Slayers, yes, their blood would be well-kept and fine to sip on occasion, but then his eyes fell to the boy, eyes he narrowed as he used his own inner sight to see the boy's soul – he was an Immortal, very young, but already had several heads to his claim, two of them several centuries old, and this worried him. This meant that the boy either knew what he was doing, 'cheated' in the Game, or had a very good teacher, possibly all three, so he turned to his associate and smiled, "Mister Lee, the boy is yours to deal with."

"What's the matter, goat boy," the young Immortal sneered at him, his tone mocking. "Not vamp enough to try and take me?"

Buffy winced as the vampire, Kakistos, growled at Xander's jab at him – there were times that she thought he was suicidal in that he provoked things and people who were much stronger than he was, but there were also times, and in reality she knew, that he often did it to throw them off balance, to make them angry … to make them stupid, and it was working in the way that the vampire was getting angry, "I could have you with ease, boy!"

Xander arched his brow at the vampire, remembering his verbal spars with Amanda, "Really? You're how old and you can still get it up? I'm impressed, but truthfully, I don't swing that way." He heard Faith let out a strangled giggle and felt Buffy glare at him slightly as the words had the desired effect of causing the vampire to roar at him, but sadly said vamp checked his anger and stopped short of charging him.

Kakistos snarled at the boy, "You're good, child, I'll grant you that, but better than you have tried to annoy me enough into attacking them."

The boy looked him oddly, "Oh, you deal with politicians, then?"

Before he could jump at the boy, he felt a hand on his arm, "Please, Master, allow me to deal with him." He looked over at Mr. Lee, who was doing his best to stare the boy down, and nodded quickly.

Xander watched as the wrinkled Asian male walked forwards … no, he didn't walk, he glided forwards, like a house cat, which made his hair stand up on end as he spoke in a soft, almost hissing voice, "You annoy my Master, boy – that is very … unwise."

He couldn't help but snark back, "Hey, your relationship with him is your deal man, but please, don't expect me to give a corpse the time of day." This got him a very annoyed look from the vampire and other Immortal, a shocked gasp from Buffy and a strangled snort from Faith as he went on, "So, old, ugly and vaguely Chinese, what's up with you? How'd you get saddled with old, Greek and fugly there?"

He glared at the boy for a second before smiling, an act that revealed his own filed, pointed teeth, "Master acquired me from my old Master, boy, just as he will acquire your two Slayers – by killing you."

Xander felt his blood pressure rise at those words – there was no love lost between him, Buffy or Faith, but he wouldn't let that happen to them, "Only way that happens is by killing me, right? Well, bucko, from the way I see things, I'm armed, you aren't, and this will be a quick fight."

Lee smiled at him again and raised his arms, "Your death shall be quick, boy – once my Master has your Slayers, he will be unstoppable." Lee then took up an odd stance, his hands waving before him somewhat chaotically, forcing Xander to pause in his attack.

Buffy gasped in horror as Xander's body flew backwards through the air and slammed into the side of the warehouse they had been in, landing on the ground with a sickening thud and snapping bones – she hadn't even seen the guy MOVE! Now, though, the old fart was floating right where Xander had been standing, his eyes glowing black, completely black, and smiling before saying, "Yes, his power will be mine, and then his SOUL will be mine, too."

Kakistos smiled as his minion removed the boy from the area before he himself started towards the Slayers, "Now, Faith, tell me, do you like to scream?"

(Later, Library)

Faith shivered as she rocked back and forth in her seat while audible snaps, crackles and pops came from Xander's body, which lay on top of the table next to her, a body that she watched – they had been saved by the timely intervention of Amanda, who had looked ready to rip somebody's head off, when she had dropped what she called 'a little bomb' (a road flare tied to a plastic gas can) into the minions that had been keeping them there. Now, though, she was wishing that had not happened as Wussly (her Watcher, Wesley Wendhym Price) had started into her about being a 'proper Slayer'.

Xander hissed as his body came to and half-way arched up in agony as his Quickening jump-started his system, noticing that Faith was staring at him, and he slumped back down with a grunt on top of the table he was apparently on, "What the fuck hit me?"

"I say, Mister Harris, such language is not needed nor is it appreciated," came the overly-British voice of Faith's newest Watcher, Wuss, as he liked to call him. The little shit seemed to think that, just because he had been hand-picked by Quinton Travers to be Faith's Watcher that it gave him an all-empowering edict to lord of them all, something that Xander, Amanda, Buffy and Faith often ignored, "And to answer your question, a Chi Master is what hit you, according to what Slayer Summers and Slayer LeHane have said."

Faith saw Xander get off of the table with a fluid roll and work one shoulder as he muttered, "Note to self – shoot first, snark later." She quirked her lips at the words – if it wasn't for him being an Immortal, she could almost like the guy; he then went over to where Amanda was stalking around and she could see that he did not want to be doing that as he spoke up, "Mandy? You okay?"

Wesley looked at the goddess of a woman, whom the boy had called 'Mandy', and was more than a little shocked to see that there were tears in her eyes when she turned, at which point she proceeded to nigh-tackle the boy and suffocate him with a hug – he was more than aware of the fact that Alexander lived with Amanda, as did his Slayer (though he was sure that the quaint place he had found her on the outskirts of town were good enough for her), but it always shocked him to see the bond that was there between the pair, that of friends, possibly even lovers. How a boy like Alexander had managed to attract the attention of Amanda, he would never know … but Wesley knew that, one day, Amanda would be his.

Xander held on to the crying Amanda, even while Wesley glared at him – everyone knew that he had the hots for Amanda, it was a big joke, really, as she never gave him the time of day, literally, but right now that was the furthest thing from his mind as he purred to her in French, "(Amanda? Are you okay?)"

She nodded as Xander asked how she was in passably-good French, something she'd been teaching him over the past months, but she responded in English, "I'll be okay, Xander, I'm just worried." He pulled away and looked at her oddly and she went on, "I'm the one who made you go with them, Xander, I would have been responsible for you dying."

Xander shook his head at her, "Remember what you told me, Amanda? Every time we leave holy ground, we run the risk of never coming back – tonight was a good example of it."

Buffy walked over at that point, interrupting their little moment, "Xand … you're taking this rather well. He could have KILLED you."

Xander nodded at her, "You're right, Buffy, he could have, but he didn't – his mistake." He could feel the anger welling up in his mind as he thought about several things he could do, but then turned to Wesley, who looked rather affronted by his mere presence, "What'd you call him? A Chi Master?"

Wesley nodded at the boy, almost as if Alexander were conceding his obvious superiority, "Yes, Alexander, a Chi Master – the man obviously has learned to control his _chi_­, or his inner energy, or his life force, even, and that makes him very dangerous."

"Is he bullet proof?" He blinked at the boy, who reached behind his back and pulled out a small revolver, frowning at it slightly, "If not, then I'm going to need more bullets."

Wesley looked at him oddly for a few seconds before he shook his head, "While most Chi Masters have been known to be killed by less violent means, Mr. Harris, to be perfectly blunt about it he would move too quickly for you to hit." The Briton looked almost thoughtful for a moment before he looked at Faith, a look that instantly made Xander want to shoot the guy, "Why did you not protect him, Miss LeHane? Were you not paying attention?"

"How could I fucking protect him if neither B or I could SEE HIM MOVE?" Faith was out of her seat in a second and, for a few nanoseconds Xander found that he felt sorry for Wesley … and then that time passed, "And stop busting my chops just because you're a shitty Watcher!" Wesley opened his mouth to defend himself but Faith never gave him the chance, "You think you're all high and mighty just because some dick in England gave you this job, but when you get here you don't do jack shit to help, you don't train me, and you sure as hell don't care about me!

"On top of that you're busting everyone around here like they're your slaves when they're about ten times better than you are, oh, and you just wanna whip it out for Amanda all the damned time even though she's with Xand!" Faith was furious, her face was flushed a bright red and Xander was sure that her dark eyes were glowing as she stalked forwards, driving Wesley back from her – Xander had to admit that she had never looked more beautiful even as he saw Buffy and a newly-arrived Willow both blush and Amanda smirking off to one side, but apparently Faith wasn't done, "Now, I want you to get in your books, find the damned shit we need, and do it quick! I have a test tomorrow morning, so I'm taking Xand and Amanda home, we're getting some sleep and I expect it by the time we get back!" Faith then charged over, grabbed him by the hand before going to Amanda, doing the same, and dragging the pair of them out of the Library, the door slamming behind them.

They almost made it to the front doors when Amanda couldn't help herself, "Why darling Faith, I never knew you were 'into' women like this – had I known I would have brought you to my bed MUCH earlier than tonight." Amanda couldn't help but smile as Faith let her hand go quickly, but not Xander's, and that Faith's ears turned red, though she did not stop moving, but continued speaking, "I am a bit surprised that you have brought Xander along with us - you're not exactly fond of him, after all."

Faith DID stop at this and turned to her, snarling, "Look, Amanda, you and Xander kept me out of that hole Wuss was going to put me into, and I respect that, but I won't let Wuss speak to me, or anyone, like that."

Amanda nodded at this, remembering her reactions to the 'lodgings' that Wesley had gotten for Faith, a true hole-in-the-wall in a seedy motel outside of town, and how Xander had offered her a room at their house, 'no strings attached', a place that Faith had taken over her Watcher's very vocal protests. Faith reminded her of herself at that age, willful and independent as all hell, but while she herself had been a good thief, if a bit presumptuous of her own mortality, Faith knew that her time in the world wasn't going to be long, given the mortality rate of Slayers – Faith fought each battle with a fire that consumed her wholly, in a way that Amanda and Xander both found to be very self-destructive, but when pressed Faith had told them both that if she was going to die, she was going to do it on her own terms, in her own way, and neither were going to be able to do anything about it.

"Faith?" She looked back at Xander, whom was obediently following her, with a look that asked 'what?', "Can I have my hand back now?" She looked down and blushed as she realized that she had been holding Xander's hand the entire time, where she had let Amanda's go some time back.

Xander grinned at her as, for the second time in as many minutes Faith blushed and jerked her hand away, mumbling 'sorry' at him, to which he quipped, "Hey, no problem, it's not like I'm accused of holding the hand of a beautiful Slayer all the time these days."

Faith turned on him with a grim look, "Hey, I stuck up for you, Xander, that doesn't mean I like you."

"And aside from being Immortal, what have I done to prevent that?" The question brought her up short as he went on, his mirth gone and his eyes flat, "You think you can dictate to me that we're not friends, fine, that's your prerogative, but don't think for a second I'm going to let you say shit like that to me and not call you on it. Why can't we be friends?"

"Because you're Immortal …"

Xander snorted disgustedly, "Please tell me you've got something better than that – if not, then I'm going to be terribly disappointed in you, Faith."

She straightened her back, "Alright, you want the truth? I don't trust you, that's why – I don't know shit about you and nobody's telling me anything."

Amanda spoke up at this point, "Darling, have you asked anyone about him?"

"Yeah, B and Red, but neither wanna tell me anything."

Amanda arched an eyebrow, "And you have never asked Xander about his past … why?" This brought the Slayer to a halt and a frown to her own lips, "Faith?"

"She's scared, Amanda." She looked over at Xander, whose eyes were narrowed, "Add on top of that Kakistos being here, her own past with Immortals, and you have a perfect recipe for her not wanting to get to know me." Faith turned to him and she could see both fear and anger in her eyes as Xander repressed a smirk, "Tell me I'm wrong, Faith."

Faith wanted to grab him by the neck and rip his head off … but she couldn't because he was right, "I'll make you a deal, Xander – we deal with Kakistos and his pet Immortal and I'll get to know you. Deal?"

Xander smiled at her, "Deal."

(Next afternoon)

The news wasn't good as far as Kakistos and his pet Immortal were concerned – with the Master gone, Kakistos was presumed to be the oldest among the vampires and by far one of the most feared after both the Master and Angelus. He was a criminal mastermind, not afraid to use humans to do his daytime dirty work and not above using any kind of clout he had (or thought he had) in order to get things done his way – rumors say that, in the early twentieth century that it was he who had given rise to people like Al Capone, but that rumor was never substantiated.

The news about his Immortal, though, was also wasn't exactly any better – Chinese Chi master, over two thousand years old, with almost two hundred heads to his name, and also having been known to wipe out entire villages of men and … experimenting on the women and children. The Watchers had compiled a very long list of possible things he was behind, but none of them had ever been prove because of the fact that the man, though he could be called a monster, had killed every eye witness there was … including the Watchers.

Wesley coughed, "I say, this person sounds to be a quite unpleasant fellow."

Amanda shot him a glare, "He's a monster, child – Wah-Shu is NOT someone to be toying with … especially not you, Xander."

Xander, on the other hand, had seen far too many anime in his day to let the name get by him, "'Wah-Shu'? We're dealing with the greatest scientific genius in the universe?" The only person who didn't give him a blank look was Willow, and she was very busily fighting off a furious bout of giggles, so he relented, "Sorry – pop culture thing." Everyone settled down and he then asked, "So, as I'm being told to not deal with this guy Wah-Shu, how do we deal with him, Amanda?"

She sat down and looked at Xander, who was being uncharacteristically thoughtful as of late, and frowned, "There is a way around it, but only if one is old enough and strong enough to risk it." He gave her a pointed look at her evasive answer and she explained to him, in French, "(It may or may not work Xander, and if it does not … I will be very vulnerable.)"

Wesley blinked at Amanda, whom was speaking to the boy in French, and was surprised when Alexander spoke back to her in the same language, though thankfully Wesley himself was well-versed in the same language, "(Then I will be there to protect you, Amanda – you are my teacher, and my friend, so I can do no less.)" Wesley could see the appreciation in Amanda's eyes even as Alexander turned to him and gave him a cold glare, "And for future reference, Wuss, don't listen in on conversations that don't involve you."

He jumped at Alexander's words, "How did you …?"

Alexander gave him a slightly chilled grin, "I always make it a point to keep an eye, or in this case, an ear, on people I don't trust."

Wuss gave him a look, as did both Buffy and Faith, as he sat back into his chair, "You … do not trust me?"

"About as far as I can throw you," Xander shot back at him, though in a tone that made Buffy shiver slightly – she'd been on the receiving end of that tone and didn't wish it on anyone.

She looked at Wesley as he squirmed slightly and could almost feel Faith's glee radiating off of her as her Watcher spoke, "And how would I gain your trust?"

"By pulling your head out of Travers' ass and start acting like a REAL Watcher should, one that actually gives a damn about his Slayer," Xander said amicably, making her look over at Giles, who was restraining a large grin from breaking onto his face. "Now, any ideas on how to take on Kakistos that doesn't involve charging in head-first, stakes flying, and praying this Wah-Shu isn't there, because I quite like my head where it is."

Before anyone could answer, though, he grimaced in pain as he felt the presence of another Immortal even as Amanda and he pulled their swords – both Methos and MacLeod were in Paris, helping out 'Joe', Mac's Watcher, with something, and none of Amanda's 'friends', which Xander read to mean either bedfellows or partners in crime, knew she was in Sunnydale, which only meant trouble. The rest of the group backed away from the table, though Wuss had to be pulled away by Buffy, as the doors to the library opened up to reveal Wah-Shu, dressed in a rather expensive-looking suit and carrying a scroll of some kind in both hands, his face a mask.

"Greetings, Amanda, Alexander," he said to the pair of armed Immortal, both of whom never took their eyes off of him.

"Greetings," Amanda said to him icily even as the pup grinned, "Hiya, Little Washu."

He narrowed his eyes at Alexander, "How very amusing, young man." The child smiled at him in an insufferable manner and Wah-Shu found himself having to control his temper for the first time since the 70's – whoever had come up with Disco would suffer in hell, "I come here bearing a challenge for you, Amanda." He placed the scroll on the table and levitated himself backwards, "Meet me, if you dare." With that, he turned and walked out of the Library – he had much to plan.

(Later – Harris-Deveroux-LeHane residence)

Faith watched as both Amanda and Xander worked over several blades with whetstones, their eyes blank and lips drawn into thin lines – G had told her what it meant to be challenged for Immortals and, while she wasn't sure what all of it meant, she DID know that when Mandy and that Washu guy went at it, only one of them would be coming back.

She then watched Amanda load the blades into her jacket carefully and step in front of Xander, murmuring something in French that sounded somewhat sappy to her, and then kissed Xander full on the lips for several seconds, Frenching him as he hugged the dark-haired woman close to his body before they parted. Faith, for a second, felt like she was intruding into something private, but that vanished when Amanda turned to her and smiled, "Well, Faith …"

"Mandy, you're hot, but I ain't kissing you."

Amanda gave her a shocked look even as Xander snickered behind the Immortal woman, but went on as if nothing happened, "I hope that things turn out well and I see you again in a few hours … but honestly I can't say that is a certainty, so I tell you be well and good luck in your life." The Immortal women hugged her for a few seconds, making Faith feel very uncomfortable, but then went about her business leaving the house.

Forty five minutes later, the silence deafening, Faith spoke up to Xander, "You're taking this well – she may not be coming back."

He looked up at her for a second and nodded, "You're right – how about we do something to ensure that?" He got up and went over to a section of the house, one that, if she remembered, once belonged to Xand's parents before they were butchered, and pulled out a case. When he opened it, she saw the rifle, though in pieces, sitting there, pieces that he began to slip together as if it were a normal thing.

She worked her mouth several times, finally getting out, "What are you doing?"

"Ensuring that Amanda comes back, Faith," he told the bewildered Slayer even as he assembled the rifle, the very same rifle that he had used against his parent's murder's goons the year before. He looked over at Faith, "Amanda's my friend, my teacher, and I'll be damned if that wrinkle-faced son of a bitch gets her without a fight."

"And if he still takes her?"

If Faith was looking for a pause or surprise, she was sorely disappointed as Xander snorted, "Then I pull out the heavier stuff and go after this asshole whole hog." He looked up at her and, for a second, Faith felt a shiver of fear go down her spine at the look of steel in his eyes, "I look after my friends, Faith, even if they don't know I'm there."

"Is this your way of getting me to trust you, because if that's what it is … well, shit, I have to say its working." He looked up at her in surprise and she looked at him, "If you're going to the mat for this woman, another Immortal who may one day try and take your head … aw, fuck, I don't know." She watched him go back to putting the rifle back together and then wrap it in some canvas and go to the garage, where a minivan sat, "Do you even know where they are going to do this thing at?"

He nodded at her as he packed away the rifle and ammunition, "Yup – outside of town, near the flats, open area for nearly a half-mile in any direction." He then started to pack away some other things, including a body bag, and she then watched him change his shoes.

Faith frowned as he changed out his sneaks for some boots, "What's with those?"

"Treadless," he told her, which confused her for a second before he went on, "no marks on the bottom – harder to tell who I am." She blinked at this even as he went about getting into the van, "Be well, Faith."

She was moving before she knew what she was doing and was yanking the door open even as he turned the van over, "You are NOT leaving without me – what if there are vamps there?"

Xander sighed, knowing just how hard headed all Slayers were, and then looked over at her, "You sense a vamp, you stay the hell put – do NOT startle me and sure as hell don't touch the rifle, are we clear?" She nodded and he started to pull out of the garage, making best speed out of town.

(Outside Sunnydale – salt flats – 15 minutes earlier)

Amanda looked at the man across from her, seeing that he did not have a blade on him, or at least he didn't look like it, as he sat and meditated on the flats – either he was very brave, very good, or very stupid, and, right now, her money was on good, given how old he felt, "I'm here."

"Yes, I know." He stood in a fluid motion, letting her see the black silk outfit he was wearing, traditional Chinese pants and shirt, but there was also blood red trim around the border, with glyphs sewn into the silk as well, "You came alone?"

She nodded, "Yes, I did – Alexander knows better than to try and fight for me."

Was-Shu gave her a creepy grin, "Oh, I have no doubt that he will show up, Amanda – he loves you, he will fight for you, and he will DIE for you."

She felt a shiver go up her spine, "Probably, but let's get on with this – I want to be home in an hour to enjoy the evening with Alexander." She drew her sword and took her opening stance, "En Guard."

Was-Shu did the same, taking up a modified Crane stance, "Oh, you will be home within the hour … the home of the dead." He lashed out with a sweep of his hand and she felt a blow hit her in the ribs, as if someone had taken a branch from a tree and hit her, "Are you prepared for such a journey?"

She gave him a glare and dashed in, lashing out with her sword, but he simply vanished as she reached him, her sword connecting with nothing but air. She spun and ducked, somehow knowing he was going to be there, and a kick meant for her head sailed over her head, but the follow-up knee did not miss as she was hurled away from the fight, sliding to a stop.

He looked at the fallen woman and smiled, "Submit and I shall show you mercy, Amanda – there is no Highlander for you to be saved by this time, and by your own word your own student will not interfere. How much pain you feel before I end this is entirely up to you."

Amanda spit out a bit of blood from a cut on the inside of her cheek, "Sorry, but I'm not into pain." She stood again and began to circle him warily – this was not going to be easy.

Twenty minutes later, Amanda spit out a mouthful of blood for the third time even as Wah-Shu continued to taunt her from afar – he was fast, VERY fast, and she knew that taking his time with her, something she often looked for in a man but, right now, it was getting annoying.

CRACK! Wah-Shu stumbled back even as a plume of blood exited the back of his chest, CRACK, but apparently whoever was helping her out, and in the back of her head, she knew who, wasn't going to hit him twice with the same shot as he caught the bullet that was fired and threw it at her, hitting her low in the left lung.

"Your friend … is impressive," the Immortal managed to get out even as she stumbled forwards, her sword out in front of her.

She didn't pay him much mind as she ran her blade right through his throat and pulled another blade, this one a short sword, "I'll be sure to tell him that … and there can be only one."

(325 yards away)

She blinked as the lightning began to play about where Amanda had taken the guy out, though she had to admit that she was torn to look down at Xander, who had put two shots down at the guy, only one hitting him as the old bastard caught the other and hit Amanda with it before she'd taken his head off. There was something almost … magical … with the event, watching the two dueling from a distance, but even more so with the light show she was now seeing.

"Move, Faith." Xander's voice brooked no argument as he picked up his gun, the tarp he had laid down, and shuffled them into the back of the minivan, "I'll get us up there, but when we do, get Amanda in here and we are GONE."

"Why? There's nobody around …" she trailed off as she noticed several sets of headlights off in the distance, easily a few miles off, but getting closer, "fuck me hard."

Xander snorted, "Any time, babe, but we gotta go!" He turned the van over and she hopped in, her mind processing what he had said as he tore out of the area towards where Amanda had gone down, the storm fading quickly.

Ten minutes later, they were on the road towards Sunnydale again, but this time they were not bound for the house, which surprised Faith a little until she noticed that Amanda was still out of it, "Xander? Why's she out? Don't you guys get back up from anything?"

"Yeah, most things, but that guy was OLD, Faith – when she wakes up … get up here, now." She was moving even as she felt Amanda twitching under her and they pulled into a parking lot of low-rent apartments, where Xander crawled back to where Amanda was and held her in a bear hug as she gasped awake. "Trust me, she's going to be out of it for a while … and she's going to be acting odd."

Amanda was silent for a few seconds before she responded, "Odd? Mmmm, Alex, I'm not odd … I'm ragingly HORNY right now." She turned in his grasp and smiled, licking the end of his nose, "Care to help me take care of that?"

From her seat, Faith smirked, "Yeah, Xander, she's acting VERY odd right now – should I alert the papers?" He shot her an irritated look and she gave him the look of pure innocence, well, as close as she could come, "What?"

He just sighed at her, "Faith, take the van back to the house, okay? Amanda and I … we have something to do."

She shook her head, "No way, buck-o, I'm staying here with you two. S'ides," she added, a grin on her face, "why settle for one when you can have two?"

Amanda gave her a look, "Child-"

Faith growled, "I'm 17, and NOT a child."

This didn't deter Amanda one bit, "I am going to be engaging in HOURS of sex with Alexander, ranging from simple lovemaking to 'swinging-from-the-chandeliers' rutting – believe me, you do not want to be involved in that. You may not survive."

This didn't deter Faith one bit as she shrugged, "Okay, so it's been a while since I had a threesome – may take a bit, but I'll get into things again."

Amanda just shrugged and opened the van door, "Fine, but if you cannot walk tomorrow, do NOT come blaming me or Xander." With that, she was off to the apartment, a smile spreading across her lips – this was going to be a FUN night.

(AN: Okay, due to Fanfiction . net's 'no NC-17' rule, despite how I've seen it broken in some places, as that is one of the places I'll be posting this, this next part has been deleted from this chapter. Thanks, and now back to our regularly-scheduled fic)

(Library – next morning)

He was surprised to see Amanda walking through the door the next morning looking as fresh as a daisy, dressed in a pristine white suit over a red silk blouse, and Giles had to admit the fact that she was smiling larger than a Cheshire cat indicated that whatever had happened the night before, she'd had a great deal of fun.

Xander was through the door next and Faith was with him, limping slightly and with an arm over his shoulder, a dazed, yet content, smile on her lips as he helped her into a chair. It didn't take a genius to figure out that all three had, apparently, had a VERY good night, and while he was somewhat perturbed at the age difference between the three, he also knew that after some of the things (and women) he had done as Ripper, he was not one to throw stones.

"Is she going to be okay?" Buffy looked at Faith as Xander helped her into a chair, "I mean, did she get hurt?"

Faith looked at Buffy and smiled somewhat lewdly, "Been a LONG time since I felt this good, B." Giles could tell that whatever had transpired that night would not be well-received by the others of the group, but that matter was somewhat moot.

"I take it all went … well, last night?" Amanda gave him a nod, Xander as well, and Faith a grin even as Wesley walked into the room, "Then Wah-Shu has been taken care of?"

"He'll never bother anyone but me again, Mr. Giles," Amanda said to him as she shivered. "He was one truly sick individual and I think I did the world a favor in taking him out of it." Giles wasn't sure if she knew, but the looks that both Faith and Xander gave to the back of her head told him that she was being just a touch full of herself, but they would let it go, "Have you come up with anything else on this Kakistos, Mr. Giles?"

"He has not, but I have, Amanda," Wesley cut in, his voice holding a note of pride that made Ripper want to jump up and, after strangling the man with his own tie, roast his body over slow coals.

"Really? And what did Giles find out that you're taking credit for, Wuss?" He shot Xander a grateful look even as the younger Watcher frowned at the Immortal young man.

Wesley frowned at the young Immortal for a moment before he sighed, "Mr. Harris-"

"Call me that again and the Council gets your body back in a number of shoe-box-sized parcels."

The threat hung in the air like a balloon, but not just the words and imagery that they brought up, but rather the promise of fulfilling the threat that hung with them. Wesley, feeling a touch faint as he straightened his tie, went on, "What have I done to earn your ire? I am here to help Slayer Summers and Slayer LeHane."

"Their names are Elizabeth, or as she likes to be called, Buffy, and Faith, and my real problem with you is that while you like to think you're the king of the heap, as far as Watchers go, you're not even the palest shadow of what Giles was before he got canned." Alexander stood up, all traces of good humor and friendship gone as his eyes took a hardened cast, "Now, first of all, my name is Xander, not 'Mr. Harris', as that lump of shit is buried in Westfield Cemetery, and secondly stop posturing and tell us what you found so we can take this asshole out."

The speech was masterful, artfully delivered and filled to the brim with scolding and the promise of pain if ignored, but it was all for naught as Xander's stomach took that point to give voice to it's annoyance due to lack of food. Amanda repressed a chuckle of her own, but her own stomach gave its own cry of having been empty for too long, a cry that was echoed by Faith's, Buffy's and Willow's as well. Xander looked at them all and, as one, they stood and made like a great flock of birds going South for the winter – food was needed, and food was to be found.

Wesley looked blankly at the doors as they swung shut and then over at Mr. Giles, who looked to be doing his best to not laugh, "What just happened?"

"Aside from having your arse chewed on, and rightfully so, by Xander, you mean? You just witnessed the 'call of the wild' with the group – I'm not sure when they all began to become attuned to Xander's stomach, but they are all hungry when he is hungry, and nothing short of supplying food stuffs will keep them here when that happens."

Wesley gave him a look, "But … what have I done wrong? I have followed all of the proper procedures that the Council has set forth where concerning civilians."

Giles sighed, "And has that worked? Remember Wesley, that these are Americans, and add to that they are both teenagers and live in California – the same rules don't apply them as they would in the civilized world." In the back of his mind Giles was sure that, were they there, that would have gotten him a shout of 'hey!' from all of the others – oh well, lost opportunities. "Add to that what these young women and man have seen and done, and the way you have come across to them is making you look like a total, pompus ass. After all," he chipped in as he leafed through a book, "all of them have ten times more field and practical experience than you do, easily."

Wesley gaped at him like a fish and, for a moment, both he and Ripper were at peace with one another.

(Later)

"So, nothing?"

She shook her head.

"Are you sure?"

Again, she shook her head.

Buffy sighed, "How could you eat the last piece like that, Faith?"

"She didn't," Xander said at her side, holding up the last slice of Gino's special three meat, four cheese pizza. He grinned at Buffy and then wolfed it down before her eyes, earning a groan from both Willow and Amanda.

"Where does he put it all, Amanda? Does he have a wooden leg?"

Amanda shook her head at Willow, "No, he doesn't, Willow – I think his metabolism makes up for anything he eats."

Faith, ever the opportunist, smirked, "Anything? What about when he was eating-"

"That's enough, Faith," Xander interrupted as a mother with two kids walked by their table. "Virgin ears and all."

Faith leaned into his side and ran her hands over his stomach, "Mmmm, 'kay."

They sat there for several minutes, their stomachs working on the four pizzas that they had all shared and ingested, and all of them sighed contentedly as they sipped at their drinks – they'd been out of the Library for a little over an hour at that point and it felt good to unwind for a bit. Finally, though, they got off their butts, Xander paid for the check after being 'puppy-dog eyed' into it (though Faith DID make a few promises to 'work off' the money), and made their way back to the Library at what could only be called a saunter. It wasn't that they weren't in a hurry, it was just that anything faster and they would have thrown up.

When they finally reached the library again, both Giles and Wesley were hard at work at the books, but by the time they reached the table, Giles sighed, "Oh, good Lord."

"Damn it." Buffy growled as she sat down, "Nothing good EVER happens when you say that, Giles!"

The elder Briton gave his charge a LOOK before he went on, "It says here that Kakistos is known to not only use mortal minions to do his bidding, but also has been known to sacrifice said minions in order to gain something that is not obvious." He looked over at Amanda, "I think that he might have sacrificed Wah-Shu in order to get something, Amanda – do you have any idea what that would be?"

The Immortal woman shook her head, "No, nothing that comes to mind, Rupert, but I'll do my best to …" Amanda's voice trailed as for a second and then a slightly odd smirk came to her lips, "Do nothing."

The others looked at one another in confusion, but Xander didn't as he got out of his chair and unsheathed his sword, "Hello, Wah-Shu."

'Amanda' looked up at Xander and grinned, "Ah, figured it out already, did you?"

Buffy looked at Xander, "What's going on?"

"A Dark Quickening, Buffy, only I think Wah-Shu's now in control of Amanda's body." Xander held the sword at the body that was Amanda's, but who was being controlled by a dead Immortal, "Lemme guess, you worked your _chi_ mojo and, when she took your head, you slid in the back door and into the driver's seat."

Amanda … no, not Amanda – Wah-Shu stood up and grinned, "As always, Alexander, a step behind and a second late. Yes, it took me a while to gain control of her mind and body, but now Amanda is MINE to do with as I wish." The dead Immortal then ran Amanda's hands over her body, a grin stretching across her face, "I think I'll go have some fun now."

Xander steeled himself even as the other Scoobies all began to back away, "I don't think so, Little Washu." She growled at him and pulled her own rapier, but held it clumsily, "Only way you're getting out of here is through me."

Faith watched as Xand faced off against Amanda, who he said was now the freak from the night before, and felt a chill go up and down her spine – were they going to fight? Would he take her head?

Wah-Shu smiled as he (Faith refused to think of him as a 'she' right now, despite having all the right parts) lashed out with the rapier, but found his attack blocked, "She's taught you well, young one."

Xander lashed out with his own attack, one that was barely blocked, "Very well, Wah-Shu."

"I'll enjoy having your Quickening!" Xander blocked the VERY sloppy overhand strike that came his way and parried with a slash that tore the abdomen of Amanda's blouse wide open, spilling blood from the gash, "Argh!"

He ruthlessly suppressed his own stab of guilt as he saw Amanda's body right itself, instead going for another tactic, "Pretty sloppy technique there, fugly – if you were in full control of Amanda's body, you should be doing better."

"Feh, it doesn't matter if I am in control, boy," Wah-Shu said as they clashed again, but this time it was Xander who came away bloody. "I control enough of her reflexes to survive."

Xander steeled himself as he jinked right and then slid left as Amanda's body fell for the trick, shoving the tip of his sword through the right side of her chest and out the left side, straight through the heart, "Not enough, fucking ugly."

Faith watched as Xander moved and removed his belt, "You're gonna bone her NOW, Boytoy? With … HIM in her?"

He looked up and gave her a glare even as he secured the belt to one side of the basket hilt and wrapped it around Amanda's chest to the other side, locking it in place, "No, I'm not, Faith, I'm going to try and keep this blade in her body as long as I can while Giles goes and calls Methos and Duncan, NOW!"

(Later)

Four times already the belt had been almost cut through as Amanda's quickening had tried to push the sword blade out of her body, and three times he had stopped it before he went and secured it with a length of heavy-gauge steel chain, locking it with a strong lock – Xander hated doing this, he really did, but if there wasn't another way out of this, he'd either keep Amanda like this for all eternity or … well, that was the only option, really, given that Wah-Shu appeared to be able to transfer his mind to other Immortals via the Quickening. How many other Immortals had he possessed this way? Was the body that Amanda had killed the previous night really his?

Xander shook his head to clear it even as he felt two presences Buzz against his own – Duncan and Methos were here, and unfortunately for him, it wasn't going to be a good encounter. While Methos didn't hold a grudge against him for the things said and done against him at Joyce's art gallery, he knew that, deep down, Duncan still held one. Not that he cared, really, but what had happened had happened and nothing was going to change that, Terakan-influence or not.

The doors to the Library opened and, on cue, Duncan MacLeod of the clan MacLeod stormed in, katana drawn and his face black as a thundercloud, "What did you do to Amanda, boy?"

Xander looked over and, also on cue, raised the Beretta 9mm he'd kept on his person for a while now and shot Duncan twice in the chest, at a range of about fifteen feet, dropping the Scot like a bad habit even as Methos walked through the door and the other Scoobies all jerked back at how quickly things had happened.

"I see you started the party without me," Methos said dryly as the other Scoobies all processed the scene. The 5000 year old Immortal looked at Duncan's chest and then at him, "Nice grouping."

"Thanks."

"Para?"

Xander shook his head and lowered his gun slightly, "Dutch, Para and hollow point."

Methos nodded, "Good call – do you plan on doing that again?"

Xander nodded, reaching into his pocket and pulling out four other magazines, "Until he calms down enough that he starts thinking straight – I figure that'll be two mags from now, myself."

Buffy approached him, her eyes narrowed, "Xander, why do you have a gun?"

He didn't even bother to look at her, his eyes never leaving Duncan's healing corpse, "Because I figured this would be his response and didn't want him to get within sword's reach of me, Buff – I don't know about you, but I LIKE my head being where it is."

Wesley walked up, his eyes a mystery, "And you didn't think to tell us about this plan of yours for what reason?"

"Because Buffy has a morbid fear of guns and would have bitched about my having one until Duncan got in, at which point I would have had to shoot around her to hit him." He saw the last of Duncan's Quickening heal him as he gasped awake and he readied his gun, "It's easier this way."

Duncan looked up at him and glared, "You son of a – " and that's as far as he got as Xander put another two rounds into his chest, dropping him again.

This set up a pattern that was played out every few minutes, in that Duncan would revive, swear at Xander in one language or another, and get shot twice in the chest each time as a result – Xander recognized French, German, Gaelic and some form of Native American as far as the languages went, and some Japanese, too, but a few of the languages were lost on him. Methos, Giles and Wesley, though, all either laughed, chuckled or paled (well, Wuss generally paled, the others laughed) at some of Duncan's phrases, so he figured that the Scot was cursing his parentage out, somehow.

Finally, half-way through his second magazine, Duncan held up his hands, "Alright, enough."

Methos, who had out a hip flask filled with some alcoholic libation, frowned, "Already, Duncan? I figured with Amanda being involved you'd take at LEAST another magazine to calm down."

Duncan glared at the older man before he glared at the pup before him, who had not moved his gun away from his chest, "I'll be angry later, Methos. Did you HAVE to shoot me?"

Xander, for his part, only shrugged, "No, not really, but it was the easier of the two ways I could have done this." He put the pistol away, making sure to show Duncan the crossbow that he also had at his side, and stood up, stretching even as several casings fell away from his lap, "So, what do we do about Amanda?"

Duncan glared at Xander for a moment before he got up and looked at the other children in the room – the high schoolers were all staring at his bloody shirt and the older ones were all hiding amused looks on their faces, "You say she's been taken over by this Wah-Shu?"

"Yeah, she has."

Methos capped his hip flask, "Well, we'll never win against the greatest scientific genius in the universe, so we might as well give … up … now?" He looked at them all and asked, "What?"

Faith was the first to speak, "You … you KNOW who Little Washu is?"

Methos nodded, "Doesn't everybody?"

Faith looked at Xander, who looked very disturbed, "Does the fact he watched anime scare you as much as it does me?"

"More so, Faith – he reminds me of Xellos right now." Xander shook his head, several times, and then looked at Duncan, "So, what now?"

Duncan frowned, "We need to get her to a purifying spring and perform a cleansing ritual – if nothing else, it may put Amanda back into control for a few moments." He looked down at his shirt and then growled at Xander, "I'm going to make you replace this shirt."

Xander rolled his eyes and tucked the gun into the back of his pants, "If Amanda comes out of this alive and as herself, I'll buy you a dozen shirts just like it." With that, he went over and grabbed Amanda's body, "So, where to, Methos?"

(Later)

Xander blinked.

Buffy, Willow, Faith and Giles, all of whom had 'insisted' upon going with them, blinked.

Wesley passed out.

Oz, for his part, merely arched an eyebrow, "We here?"

Methos nodded and walked to the back of the van he'd brought them all in, "Yes."

Faith looked over at Xander, "Why do I not feel any better with this cleansing pool being located in a cave UNDER Disneyland?"

"Because you're cynical, female and believe the Mouse should be destroyed, along with all of his followers?" The look that particular comment got him was one that is best described as 'chilled', so he restated, "Because you dislike the Mouse and prefer the Duck?"

Faith nodded, "Donald rocks, but how come you look so happy?"

He grinned, "Because I always wanted to come here … well, to Disneyland, but right now I'll settle for being under it." He reached into the back of the van and, with Methos' help, grabbed the litter that they had secured Amanda's body to for the long journey to the House of the Mouse, "Let me guess, you were in on the construction of this place?"

Methos shook his head, "Nah, but Walt and I went way back, so when he told me he was going to build out here, I decided to hedge a few bets and have him build over this place, just in case."

Buffy looked around, her eyes a mystery even as Willow and Giles both checked on Wesley, "How cleansing can this place be, given what's over it?"

Methos shrugged, "I was the last person to be down here, that I know of, so it should be safe." He and Xander drug Amanda's litter over to the stone pool, which looked to be about four feet deep, about ten feet across and made out of snowy white marble, the surface as calm and pristine as one could believe, and Methos began to remove Amanda's restraints, "Now, Xander, we need to work quickly to make sure this works."

Xander nodded, "Okay, but what do we do?"

Methos reached out and ripped the sword from Amanda's chest, a wet, sickening SCHLUCK sound filling the cavern, "You get into the water with her, holding her, while Duncan and I perform the ritual – whatever you do, do NOT let her go until we say so."

Xander nodded and picked up Amanda's healing body, and stepping into the water even as Methos walked to the others, "Now, get out of here, all of you – this is not for your eyes."

Faith snarled, "Like hell I am!"

Methos shot Faith a glare that had frozen entire armies in their steps, a glare that DARED anyone to put their voice against him, "Now."

Faith ignored that glare, "Three words, old man – oh, hell, no!"

Duncan growled, "We cannae wait any longer, Methos!"

Methos sighed, "Very well…"

(Later)

From her seat, Buffy looked on as Xander, who was now sitting in the water with a thrashing Amanda, did his best to apparently drown himself and Amanda even as both Methos and Duncan chanted from some funky books and caused blue lights to appear, "Pretty."

"Yes, quite," Giles said from beside her.

"Indeed," Wesley intoned.

Willow, however, looked down worriedly, "Buffy? Faith looks like she's going to kill you."

Buffy looked down as their bench, Faith, struggled against the chains they had been forced to put her into since she refused to let the two other Immortals do their job without interference, "Stop it, Faith."

Faith shot her a glare that could have vaporized a vampire, but Buffy shrugged it off – her mother's glared were MUCH scarier.

"Hush, both of you," Giles said as a sudden flash of light filled the cave. Both young women looked back at the pool in time to see bolts of light and lightning hitting Amanda, and by proximity, Xander, as the woman gave vent to a scream that redefined the term 'blood curdling' – the walls of the cave didn't help things any as the sound reflected over, and over, and over again, so much so that it was still going when the lights stopped and Amanda went limp in Xander's arms, and Xander fell into the water, motionless.

When the screams finally dissipated, they looked into the pool and saw the bodies of Xander and Amanda there, motionless, both horribly burned and encrusted with blood … but Xander was still holding Amanda tightly to himself, his arms and legs bound around her body.

Methos frowned, "Well, it's a start."

Buffy looked at him, "When do you know if this will work?"

Duncan supplied, "When Amanda and Xander both wake up. Take it from me, Buffy, this isn't as easy as it looks." Duncan's mind threw itself back to when he had been consumed by a Dark Quickening, and how it had taken him time to recover, but those memories faded away as he saw Amanda shiver slightly and her Quickening beginning to crackle away at the wounds on her body.

Faith spoke up, her voice slightly sick, "And if he doesn't … isn't …"

Methos' voice was like a tomb shutting, "Then she'll never leave here with her head, Faith."

(Unknown Place)

"Ow."

"Quiet."

"'Quiet'? I HURT!"

"Oh, shut up, you'll live."

"Says you."

"You're Immortal, you idiot!"

"Yeah, I guess I am."

…

…

…

…

"Mon Dieu, it's boring here."

"Says the one who was telling me to be quiet?"

Amanda shot him a nasty look, "It's not like I asked to have that lunatic take over my body." She shivered and ran her hands over her nude form, the imposing blackness surrounding them and chilling her body ever so slightly, "Do you think that we're still in that cave?"

Xander, as naked as Amanda was, shrugged his shoulders, "A cave, is a cave, is a cave."

Amanda lashed out and slapped her hand across Xander's chest, "Don't make jokes, Xander!"

He rubbed his chest, "If I wasn't making jokes I'd be worried, Amanda." He looked around where they were and then down at the ground, frowning, "Is it my imagination or is the floor suddenly looking more … well, less shadowy?"

Amanda looked down and nodded, looking back up, "You're right."

It was then that the pain hit them both.

(Cave)

Xander gasped to life and let out a strangled, "Ow."

Amanda was a second behind him, her voice no less pained by her face not letting her speak too clearly, "Seconded." She felt his arms tighten around her midsection again for a second before he let go, letting her roll off of him and into the water, where she temporarily reveled in the feeling of the cold water on her burning face.

That feeling was interrupted when she felt someone grab her by the shoulders and hug her close, "Amanda, dannae scare me like that again!"

"Get off of me you bloody Scot! I was enjoying myself!" She pushed away from Duncan and stumbled back, losing her balance and sitting down heavily on Xander's chest as he was trying to stand up. They hit the water and a great gush of air left from under the surface as she crushed his chest empty.

"PHBBTBTBTBTBT!"

She winced and rolled off again, letting Xander get to the surface to gasp for air, "Sorry, Xand." She got to her feet, somewhat unsteadily, and stood there even as she felt her body putting itself back together, "Gods, that hurt!"

Xander, who sounded like he was coughing up a lung, managed to get out a, "Told ya," as he got to his feet.

"Glad to see this has all worked out," Methos drawled slightly as he handed over his coat to her, at which point she noticed that her blouse was almost see-through and took the coat, "but we need to get out of here. The Park opens in a few hours."

She looked up with a slight frown, "Park?"

(Later)

Xander sat next to Amanda, his arms around the shivering woman, "Its okay, Amanda, it won't hurt you."

"No mouse, no mouse, no mouse, no mouse, no mouse," was all the response he was going to get for a long, long time.

(Same Time – Sunnydale)

"I must say that I am quite disappointed in you, Kakistos." His eyes never left the old vampire as his human minions all held said vampire at bay with ignited road flares, "I mean, if you had just TOLD me you were going to be operating in my town, we wouldn't have to be meeting like this, but you seemed to have forgotten that I run Sunnydale."

Kakistos hissed at him, "I will feast on your blood for this, Wilkins – your pathetic humans cannot hold me at bay forever."

Richard Wilkins, First, Second and Third, nodded at this, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a knife, "Indeed, they cannot, but then again, they don't need to." He whipped his arm at the old vampire, burying the knife into its side and getting, first, an enraged howl and then a pained scream from the undead being, "Do you like it? I've had it for some time and only using on special occasions – it's made with the essence of an undying one, supposedly Immortal, but when I last saw him, he and his wife were both quite dead. Does it hurt?"

The string of spat curses and insults that the vampire sent his way told him that, indeed, it was a touch uncomfortable, so he smiled and nodded, "Very good, though such language isn't necessary. Why, what if children had been here? That'd be an awful thing to say in front of them…"

Richard then turned to his Deputy Mayor, Allen Finch, "See that he's disposed of, Allen, and that the bones are properly destroyed."

Allen, his face pale, nodded, "Of course, sir." In his opinion, Allen needed a vacation, and he made a mental note of it to schedule in a few days off in the neat future – good help, after all, was terribly hard to find these days.

As he got into his car, Richard looked at his secretary, "Find out what Kakistos was doing here in Sunnydale, Marge."

The woman, nearly fifty and still as beautiful, brunette and buxom as the day she'd sold her soul to work for him, nodded and made the note in her ever-present ledger, "And what about the business with the Immortals working with the Slayers?"

Richard frowned for a moment and tapped his finger to his lips, "Keep an eye on them, but don't do anything overt. If they are just helping the Slayer, then allow them to." He then frowned a little more, "Is there anything else known about the Immortal killed the other night?"

Marge shook her head, "Nothing, other than he was in the employ of Kakistos, was shot at long range by Alexander and killed by Amanda."

"Is there any chance we could get Alexander to work for us? Such skill at such a young age is advantageous."

Marge shook her head, "No, sir – the file we obtained on him from the military group trying to set up underneath the UCS men's frat house says that not only is he extremely loyal to his friends, but also he's rather vengeful when pushed or they are harmed."

"What is the status of the military group Allen stumbled on?"

Marge grinned, exposing her sharpened teeth, "Taken care of, sir. Would you like to come over for dinner? I've recently come into some rather nice pieces of meat."

Richard shook his head, trying to hide his disgust – honestly, cannibals disgusted him, "I'll pass, Marge." The car started to pull away and he made one last comment, "Make sure that the Slayers know that Kakistos is destroyed and leave hints for them to follow on who did it – from what I have heard about them, they'll want answers."

Marge nodded and made the notation even as they made their way towards the City Hall.

(Several Days Later)

Xander lay on his back, looking at the ceiling of his room and pondered just when, precisely, Amanda had become another part of him; she'd come into his room that morning and told him she had to leave for a while, she wasn't sure when she was coming back, and that she wanted him and Faith to take good care of himself before leaving and not giving him the chance to argue. It felt like he had suddenly lost an arm, maybe a leg, or a good portion of his heart and soul, and for some odd reason he just couldn't fathom just what he was going to do next.

"Xand?" He looked over and saw Faith in his doorway, tears streaking down her cheeks as she clutched a letter in one hand, "She bailed on us."

He didn't say anything as he scooted over and motioned for Faith to come to him, which she did with the velocity of a missile, wrapping her arms and legs around him as they rolled once, stopping with him on the bottom and her face buried in his chest. He held her somewhat robotically as she heaved into his chest, his shirt becoming wet with her tears, and his hands roamed up and down her back as he whispered quietly into her ears that everything would be okay, that she'd be back, even though he wasn't sure when that would be.

He wasn't sure how long he and Faith stayed like they were, with him on his back, rubbing his hands up and down her back, but a low rumbling caught his attention suddenly … and it was coming from Faith? He carefully turned his head to the side to see her sleeping face, her cheeks marred with dried tear tracks, and could tell she was asleep, giving him the chance to figure out just what it was that she was doing. Was she purring?

He shifted just a touch under Faith and her face screwed up a little, the 'purring' stopping for a second before it returned (coincidentally as soon as he settled down for a few seconds and resumed his 'petting') – this could be fun, and interesting.

Careful not to move more than he had to, he looked at the letter that Faith had brought to bed with her and immediately recognized Amanda's script, 'Darling Faith, I know this may be sudden, but I need some time alone for myself – there are now things in my mind that … that I don't know how to deal with as of yet, but when I do sort things out, know that I will return to both you and Alexander. I want you to know that in the short time I have known you, I have come to love you as I love Alexander – please, stay alive, grow old and have lots of babies … or at least stay alive and wait until you are eighteen, then find a nice young man that will survive Alexander to have children with. Love Always, Amanda.' He put the note down and, for a moment, felt vaguely insulted – 'survive Alexander' had such a … smack to it, one that he'd make Amanda pay for (oh, yes, she'd pay … hours upon hours of squealing from tickling …).

He shook his head a bit to clear it and looked down at Faith, who was still purring, and lightly kissed her on top of the head, making her purrs quiet for a second before returning with redoubled effort, "She will return, Faith." With that said, he kissed her on the cheek and went back to sleep, hugging her as she purred.

(Later)

She noticed two things the second she woke up – first, she REALLY needed to pee, and second was that she hadn't been dreaming that X had been holding her. Faith cracked her eyes open and saw his sleeping face, a sight that brought a smile to her lips, and she had to resist the urge to just stay there and watch him, snuggling – she REALLY had to take a piss, so she slowly removed herself from his embrace and walked to the bathroom, not bothering to close the door behind her.

When she was done, she stole a quick look in the mirror and winced at how shitty she looked – she hated to cry, especially with how it made her cheeks and eyes look, and right now she looked like an extra from the movie series 'Night of the Living Dead'. A quick scrub later and she looked better, so she went back to X's room and slid back into bed with him, making sure to get as much of his skin (he was wearing only boxers) in contact with her own (she had on her tank top and panties, but nothing else) as she wormed her way back under his arms. It was odd, really, that she felt so safe with a guy, let alone an Immortal like X, but there was just something about him that she couldn't help but lo … like.

"What's wrong, Faith?" She looked up at X and saw that his eyes weren't open, but he had an eyebrow raised, "You okay?"

She nodded and unconsciously ground her crotch into his hip, making her gasp as she said, "Fine, Xand."

Now he opened an eye and pulled his hip away from her, "Faith …"

She looked down and studied a few square inches of his skin for a second, "Alright, I'm not fine." He pulled her close and she felt him kiss the top of her head before trailing light kisses down her temple to her ear, which she reveled in for a second before he made his way to her jaw line, "Xand …"

"Yes?"

"Do you really think she's going to be back?" He looked up at her and, in the depths of his eyes, she could see the answer she was looking for as his hands began to trail up and down her back, "She's coming back."

Xander nodded at her, "I know what she's going through, Faith, and she just needs to clear her head – it's not easy, and it'll take time."

She nodded and gave him a kiss on the lips, "Now back to sleep, lover boy."

He looked at her, a grin on his lips, "Excuse me? 'Boy'?"

She arched an eyebrow, "Yeah, 'boy'! What, ya want me to call you 'lover girl'? As kinky as that'd be, ya have the wrong equipment, Xand."

"Funny, a few nights ago you were saying I had ALL of the RIGHT 'equipment', Faith." She felt her face flush at his tone and felt her nipples start to tighten even as he kissed her one last time and then laid his head back, "Sleepy. Night."

She growled slightly and slid on top of him, "No way, boytoy." She sat up and pulled off her tank top before reaching down and sliding her hand down the front of his boxers, grabbing him and squeezing slightly.

Xander's eye shot open and, with a wheezing gasp, asked, "What?"

She grinned at him, "You cranked the engine, Xand, now ya have to run it 'till the tank's empty." She leaned forwards, kissing him and all intellectual speaking ceased at that point.

(Summers Home)

Joyce sipped at her tea even as she read the note that Amanda had dropped off to her earlier that morning and sighed as she finished the plea for her to keep an eye on both Faith and Xander – Buffy, after some prodding, had told her of what had happened to Amanda and now Joyce knew that things were going to be … odd for a while, especially now that Methos had decided to stay in Sunnydale. He was a nice guy, but not exactly her cup of tea – Xander, on the other hand …

Joyce shook her head, stopping those thoughts right in their tracks – yes, he was Immortal, no, he was NOT old enough to date, and Buffy would most certainly NOT allow her to go out on dates … oh well. There was nothing wrong with looking.

"Mom? Are you okay?"

She looked over at Buffy and smiled a little, "I'm fine, honey, I just need to check in on Faith and Xander … later on." Ah, the wonders of maternal instincts.

Buffy nodded at this, "Cool. Well, I'm off to meet Wills at the mall."

Joyce nodded at her daughter, instinctively fearing for the motorists of Sunnydale until she remembered that both Xander and Willow, rather forcibly, had gotten her daughter to sign a contract, in blood, to never drive unless it was an actual emergency, "Have fun, honey."

She waited until Buffy left and then put her tea down, going to the phone and dialing a familiar number – after about a dozen rings, it was picked up and she was greeted by Faith's snarl of, "What?"

"Nice to see you too, dear – is Xander there?"

"He's busy," was the only response she got, but … was that a moan in the background?

Joyce felt her cheeks redden a little, "We three need to talk, Faith."

"'k, later." The connection ended and Joyce was left looking at the buzzing end of her telephone.

She hung up the phone and gently pulled at the open throat of her blouse – why was it so suddenly warm in here?

(Elsewhere)

"I'm WHAT?" This had to be some kind of joke.

"You're taking over for Amanda at the high school, Adam." Even though the phone, he could hear the grin on Joe's face even as he heard several howls of laughter in the background – damned Watchers, always looking to get their giggles at his expense.

"And if I say no?"

"Then I collect on your bar tab, old man." … Joe was now going below the belt – in an instant, Methos felt shocked to the core, yet he felt so proud.

"Joe, please, you can't do this to me – assign me to the ickle firsties, to hand-transcribe the old Chronicles, ANYTHING!"

"Sorry, Adam, but you just drew school duty – meet up with Harris, I'm faxing him the details. Have fun, OLD man." Joe hung up before Methos could respond to this, so it was the poor receiver that was on the receiving end of ten minutes of Summarian at its most colorful.

When he finally finished, Methos grabbed his jacket and made his way for Alexander's shared home – Amanda had come by that morning to explain why she had left, and while he could see why she did it, he had to admit that Amanda could have gone about it a better way. The Slayer, Faith, was exceedingly close to both Alexander and Amanda, and while she could risk losing Alexander, Amanda was her rock, so he feared for her sanity.

"Why is it always me being dragged into this? Where's that great, bloody Scot when you need him?" Methos wasn't surprised that his answer was met with an acorn falling out of a tree as he walked, hitting him on the top of the head – the world, it seemed, was out to get him.

(Xander's and Faith's home)

Joyce repressed a blush at how very little Xander and Faith were both in when she found them, the scent of sex heavy in the air and both parties looking both quite worn out, yet oddly refreshed as they both emerged from a bedroom, Faith clad in a sheet and Xander … in considerably less, "Get cleaned and dressed, both of you." She spun on her heel and walked to the kitchen, flatly ignoring Faith's call to join them and Xander's groan of, "Buffy's going to kill me, a lot."

She went to the kitchen and, after fixing the coffee to drip, took in a survey of the entire house – while not exactly what she'd have guessed from Amanda, it was tasteful and had several pieces of art that coincided with what Xander had brought back with him from the villa to give to her. It felt a little understated, with a tinge of steel in the air (a point underscored by a display of several swords, crossed in a fashion that reminded her of a coat of arms), but it was a home and it had the 'lived in' look, a point emphasized when she found a pair of Faith's leather pants stuffed behind the couch.

"What's up, Joyce?" She looked over and saw Faith standing at the foot of the stairs, her hair wet and dressed in a pair of leather pants (a trend, Joyce saw) and a shirt that could only be Xander's, given the pair of skewered-by-swords dummies and the 'Do you get my point?' caption under it.

"I came here to speak to the both of you, Faith, and it's about Amanda." She could see Faith start to close up instantly, but she stopped that before it got too far, "She left me a letter this morning, explaining why she's doing what she's doing, Faith, and told me to share it with you."

"She bailed, Joyce, and I … WE will deal," Faith said somewhat defensively as they both heard Xander kick something upstairs and swear a bit while hopping on one foot.

"Is he going to be okay?"

Faith shrugged, "Probably, seeing as he kicks the damned thing every other day – you'd think he'd remember to pick up his books, but I guess it's a guy thing." Faith walked over and Joyce watched as she put two sugars and two splashes of cream into her coffee cup, which depicted the Harley Davidson logo, before dumping in another few spoons of sugar along with the coffee, "Where's B?"

"At the mall with Willow." Faith gave her a worried look and Joyce raised her hands, "Willow drove."

Faith shook her head, "You'd think that with teachers like X and Red, B'd be a better driver …"

"She takes after her father and my mother," Joyce said dryly as she heard Xander swear again and stumble down the stairs. Joyce looked at Faith, worried, "What did you do with him?"

Faith put her coffee down and grabbed for the knife block, "Not as much as I wanted to, but I think X's got one of his own around."

Joyce felt her pulse start to quicken as Faith walked to the edge of the kitchen, the chef's knife held swept back against her forearm, but Xander made it to the bottom of the stairs, apparently, and opened the door enough for them to hear, "What's up, Methos?"

Joyce frowned as Methos barged into the house, "We need to talk about the sadism of Watchers, kid." The Nose rounded the corner and stopped short, "Oh, Joyce … Faith, I didn't know you were here."

"So I guessed." She looked at Xander, who had on a pair of half-buttoned jeans and half of a shirt (one arm through the neck hole and the other hand holding his basketed broadsword with the other. Joyce had to force her eyes away from Xander and back to Methos, "Why are you here, … Methos?"

"I'm Amanda's replacement at the school." The tone of disgust the older man used, not to mention the look on his face, was totally sincere and proper, but it wasn't enough to keep both Faith and Xander from snorting and snickering at the older man's plight.

Once the pair settled down, Faith spoke up, "Hold up, I thought your name was Adam? Why's Xand callin' you 'Mentos'?"

Joyce held back a grin as the older man growled, "It's METHOS, little girl, and both are my name." Faith, for her part, grinned at the older man so he turned and ignored the snickering children, "Joyce, why are you here?"

She pinned him with her infamous 'Mother' look, "To talk to Xander and Faith about Amanda's leaving. Is there any other reason you're here?"

Methos, it appeared, was completely unaffected by it, "To talk with Xander and borrow his fax machine."

"It won't hurt you to buy one of yer own, OLD man," Xander snarked as he finished dressing, Faith holding the broadsword and running a finger up the watered blade. He took the blade back from her and put it on the table, "And, last I heard, there's this new-fangled contraption called a 'computer' that you can hook it up to."

"Pillock," she heard him mutter under his breath as he helped himself to the beer (… she and Xander were going to have a talk about that, later) in the door of the refrigerator, at which point he turned back. "I realize that, Xander, but I don't like having a way for people to track me."

Xander arched an eyebrow, "And you want them to track ME?"

"You're younger, I'm older and more set in my ways, now do as your elders tell you." Joyce arched an eyebrow at Methos' comments even as Xander stalked out of the kitchen, muttering something about 'Jurassic era' and 'dino droppings', leaving her to speak with both Faith and Methos, "So, Faith, how are you doing here?"

Faith shrugged, "Better than where I was gonna be, and X and 'manda know how to treat a girl right – no real complaints." Joyce looked into the answer more than she probably should have and saw that Faith was scared, but willing to try and keep things on the level, and this worried her a little, as she didn't know how far Faith would go to keep it that way, "How're you doing here, Methos?"

"Adam, please, and I'm fairing well." He took a pull off of his beer and looked at her, "So, Joyce, how about dinner tonight? You, me, candles …"

She narrowed her eyes slightly, "I'm sorry, ADAM, but I'm having dinner with Faith and Xander tonight." She sipped her coffee, which had started to cool, and ignored Faith's snickerings at Methos' expression, "And add to that I'm not ready to start dating again, and the answer will be NO for a while."

"Even if I asked you out, Mrs. Summers?" She turned to see Xander standing behind her, a sheaf of paper in his hands and a grin on his lips, his eyes twinkling a little as Faith snickered even more, "I think we could make beautiful music together."

Joyce blushed a little, "Xander … what would Buffy say?"

He snorted as he gave Methos the papers, "Probably threaten me with death … or her cooking, whichever was more painful. Still," he went on, reaching back and running his finger along her jaw line, "some things are worth the risk."

"Oh my," she mumbled, feeling more heat rush to her cheeks as she heard Methos give forth an affronted noise and Faith dissolve into a full bout of laughter. After a few seconds, though, she kissed the tip of his finger, shaking her head, "I'm not sure I could survive a man as young and virile as you, Xander, so I'm afraid I'll have to say no."

"Aw, come on, Joyce," Faith gasped out, "we'll steer ya around the curves. Remember, it's only kinky the first few times." THIS got Xander to blush, Methos to chuckle and for her to blush a little more, and the subject was dropped.

"Okay, all fun and games aside, is there anything else we need to cover … Adam?"

Methos shook his head, "No, Xander I have it all here – see you in school on Monday, Faith." With that, he left and Joyce found that her coffee wasn't as interesting as it used to be, the tension starting to rebuild in the room as the door shut.

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, she spoke, "Are you two ready to hear Amanda's letter?"

Faith shook her head, "No need, Joyce … she gave me a copy before she left." She watched the girl pull out a crumpled letter from her back pocket and recognized Amanda's script, "I get that she's trying to get straight in the head … but it hurts, knowing she ain't here."

Joyce nodded and walked towards Faith, enfolding her into a hug and whispering, "If you ever need anything, Faith, don't hesitate to ask." Faith's only response was a slight gasp and a nod before hugging just a little tighter as Joyce felt her blouse start to get damp.

Deep in her heart, even as she felt Xander join in on the hug, Joyce knew that things were going to be just fine … somehow.

AN: Okay, this chapter didn't seem to want to go where I wanted it to, so I'm stopping it here and going where it's plotted to (yes, there is a plot … somewhere) in the next chapter. Reviews, please.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

AN – short chapter, ties up a few loose ends.

(Sunnydale High Library)

Methos grumbled to himself even as he watched both Xander and Faith howl in laughter as he walked in the door – apparently, with the way Buffy and Willow were grinning, Ripper was chortling and the other boy, Wussly, as both Xander and Faith called him, they had been telling tales and now he had to get even, "Morning."

"Hey ya, ROG," Faith said as she calmed down, propping her feet up on the table in front of her and flatly ignoring the indignant looks she was getting from himself, Ripper and Wussly.

"That's Mr. Pierson to you, Faith," Wussly said somewhat snobbishly as he walked forwards, hand extended and a grin on his face. "Wesley Whyndam-Price."

"Adam Pierson," he returned with a slight growl, reaching up to adjust his tie. He looked over at Xander, who was recovering from his laughter, "Is it the job of that troll to make people want to eviscerate him?"

Xander shrugged, "Eviscerate, dismember, hell, even a few straight-up shootings, generally nothing that's easy to be saved from."

"Alexander, it is not polite to speak about the headmaster in such a way," Wussly huffed slightly even as Ripper came out of his now-shared office. "He may be a detestable individual, but he IS my employer."

Methos grinned as Xander rolled his eyes and fired back, "No, the school board is your employer, hell, the Mayor is your employer, Snyder's just a tool of theirs." The door opened behind him and Xander segued into, "Speaking of tools and the Mayor…"

"Ah, you must be Mister Pierson." Adam froze at the voice even as it and Snyder's footsteps drew closer, "I'm Richard Wilkins, Mayor of Sunnydale and it's an honor …" Methos turned around to see Richard Wilkins, again, and the words trailed off, as did the smile, "YOU!"

Methos shook with rage even as he heard the children get to their feet, "Hello, Richard – I wish I could say it was good to see you … but it isn't." Instantly, he wished he had not left his sword at the house, instead of relying on the fact that the school, supposedly, was consecrated ground due to the church it rested on top of.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Mayor?"

"Be quiet, toady," Richard snarled even as Methos felt the baleful glare doing it's best to incinerate him on the spot. "What are you doing here, Methos?"

"Thanking whatever gods and demons are smiling on me right now," snarled the ancient Immortal even as the Scoobs all took up flanking positions around him.

Richard looked at the group of children surrounding the Immortal and sneered, "Relying on children, Methos? How pathetic."

"Said the professional and master manipulator to the originator of the art," Methos snarked right back.

"What's he done to earn your ire, old man?" Xander walked up to Methos, his hand snaking up his jacket to get the dagger kept there for such emergencies.

"He sacrificed myself and my wife to a demon in order to start some half-assed ascension plan of his," Methos snarled again, stepping forwards in a manner than sent Snyder scurrying away from the impending fight. "I hope your will is updated, DICK, because I don't see you living very long now."

"You don't have the power, Methos," Richard fired back as he saw a knife enter the boy's hand. "Neither does Alexander."

"What I lack in power I make up for in ingenuity, Mr. Mayor," Alexander said calmly even as he tried to flank him. "Still, this explains a few things."

"Like?"

"Why I never remember an election n the past ten years." Alexander turned and pinned a glare at the toad, Snyder, "Your hands go any closer to that fire alarm and you lose them, Quark."

Snyder wet himself and passed out, causing Richard to want to sigh – where was all of the COMPETANT help these days? "I suppose telling you I had Kakistos destroyed wouldn't earn me any leniency?"

"Nah, we'd just make sure to keep your corpse in as few pieces as possible," Alexander said somewhat jocular voice, but one with an edge that told Richard that his time was marked.

"Thank you EVER so much," Wilkins said as Xander saw Methos surge forwards behind the Mayor.

Methos, simmering in rage, clenched his hands around Wilkins' neck and spat, in his ear, "For Illyana "

Buffy and Faith both shrank back at the sound of the Mayor's neck breaking, Willow and Wussly passed out and Giles let out a quiet, "Bugger." Xander, for his part, turned and, once he reached the Library doors, locked them, the Mayor and Snyder in.

"Let me go, please." He looked at Snyder, who looked miserable, "Please? Aren't you supposed to be one of the good guys?"

Xander leaned down and gave the troll-like man a shark's grin, "No, THEY," he pointed to Buffy and the others, "are the good guys. I'm the one who tends to clean up their messes." He grabbed Snyder by the tie and dragged him towards the Mayor's body, "But I'm not wholly without heart – let's leave it up to the jury, shall we?" He shoved Snyder on top of the Mayor's body and grinned, "What say you, jury of John Snyder's peers? What is his sentence?"

They all looked blankly at him for a moment before Giles sighed, "Xander, DO stop hamming it up and knock the sod out. His whimpering is annoying me, greatly."

Xander gave the 'elder' Brit a wounded look but Methos beat him to the punch and jammed his fist into a pressure point on Snyder's neck, making the man go limp, "Hey! That was my job!"

Methos snarled, "Back off, boy." He then went about dragging the Mayor back to the weapon's cage and securing him there, "I'm not entirely sure he's dead right now, so if he DOES revive, we will be ready."

(Later)

After supposedly 'calming' a frantic Willow down, as she had awoken to the thought that they had committed a political assassination (Methos had told her that it hadn't been an assassination, it was out and out murder before he left for class), the Scoobs all sat in the now-closed library, excuses from their classes even while Methos was teaching. Methos' words didn't do much to calm Willow down, though Xander didn't really think they would.

Now, they all sat in the Library, dong more research into both Kakistos and the claims that the Mayor had taken him out – at any one time one of them was with the corpse of the Mayor, generally either Xander himself or Giles, as Buffy, Willow and Wesley were all of weak stomachs around dead people and Faith was dead-set on confirming if Kakistos was dust.

"Xand?" He looked from the dead, bound, gagged and rather pale corpse of the Mayor over to Buffy, who was looking a little paler herself as she looked everywhere but at the body, "It's lunchtime – you want anything?"

He shook his head, "Nah, I'm good."

Buffy's color returned a little as she quirked an eyebrow, "You're turning down food? Okay, who are you and what have you done with Xander?"

He gave her a thin smile, "Oh, I'm Xander, and believe it or not my stomach doesn't rule me." His stomach protested a little with a slight growl, but he ignored it even as Buffy smirked, "More to the point, you need to eat, so does Faith."

"Are you calling me thin?"

"No, I'm calling you skinny," he shot back, ignoring the dangerous tone in her voice. Buffy made an affronted noise and stormed out of the book/weapon's cage, leaving him to look at the corpse, "Women, can't live with them, can't kill them."

"Really, Alexander, that's not a nice thing to say." He jerked back at the voice and looked over to see Jenny Calendar, a touch more tanned, with her hair down to her back, and wearing a pair of black slacks, a matching jacket and a dark blue silk blouse, a smile on her lips as she went on, "How do you think you'll find a stable girlfriend if you say such things?"

A slow grin spread across his face as he stood up and walked over to the woman, "Why, Miss Calendar, are you offering to take that position?"

She grinned back at him, teasingly, "I do think Faith would have a problem with that, Xander." They hugged, briefly, and then parted as she looked over at the Mayor's body, "Making a bid for the Mayor's office, are we?"

He shrugged, "Taking out the competition, mostly. So, what brings you back to Sunnydale and away from your vamp-sitting duties?"

She snorted and took a seat next to him, crossing her ankles as she doffed her jacket, "I was replaced from watching Angelus by one of my cousins, who is more proficient in magic than I am." She then looked him up and down, taking in his own slacks and dress shirt, "I see your wardrobe has improved."

He rolled his eyes, "Thank Amanda when she comes back to town, she took one look at my closet and declared that we were going to LA on a 'minor' shopping expedition. Five grand later, I had a bonfire of old shirts to burn." That had been a sad day, and it had pained him to light the match and toss it onto the gasoline-soaked shirts, but the sword that Amanda had laying across the underside of his crotch made him think of not disobeying … but Jenny didn't need to know that.

Jenny nodded, "Well, they look good on you. So, who is replacing her?"

He snorted, "Adam Pierson, an acquaintance of hers and mine – he's a shameless womanizer, so be prepared." She nodded in thanks to him as Giles walked towards the cage, his eyes a mystery, "Hey, G-man."

Giles sighed, "How many …." Xander arched an eyebrow at him as he trailed off and Giles shook his head, "Never mind, it's pointless to ask you to stop."

Xander looked at Jenny and grinned, "See? He CAN be taught!"

She nodded with a slight grin, "Soon, very soon, we'll have him acting like a Colonial and our corruption of him will be complete." The look of pure horror on Giles' face made them both tip their heads back and bring forth the most malevolent-sounding cackles they could produce, and while Xander thought his was passable, Jenny's … hers was inspiring. Once they were done, she looked up at Giles, "Oh, loosen up, Rupert."

Giles gave one last shiver and then looked at them, "As I was going to say, classes have been canceled for the day, and Adam will be here to relieve us soon, though he wants you to stay, Xander." He arched an eyebrow at this and Giles shrugged, "I don't know why, but apparently he wants to teach you something."

Xander nodded, "Cool. Well, then, I'm going to grab a snack – Giles, protect Jenny from Wuss, Jenny, try to take some of the starch out of his collar, Mr. Mayor … stay dead." The two adults in the room snorted at this as he left, though where with Giles it was a snort of slight annoyance (Xander's specialty, if he said so himself), while with Jenny it was a snort of amusement, and went on his way to find Methos.

Out in the halls, it was organized chaos – the students, not knowing why they had been let out early, and, honestly, not caring, milled about even as Snyder tried to enforce his will, but as Xander approached, the Principal paled and, while he didn't exactly run away, he moved a pace that was quicker than his normal stride. Xander grinned slightly as he continued on his way towards Methos' room, and once there he saw the old Immortal with his feet propped up on his desk, the remnants of a cigarette between his fingers, "What's up, Adam?"

Methos looked over and grinned, slightly, "I guess it's all starting to sink in now, Alexander – if Wilkins truly IS dead, then his deputy Mayor will be taking office soon, and I think I want to make sure he's … malleable to the situations that will arise."

Xander shut the door behind him and sat on one of the desktops, "Okay, so you want to influence local power – isn't that a bit … bold?"

Methos shook his head and crushed out the cigarette, "No, not really, I'll just have to ensure that Mr. Finch, if I remember correctly, understands how I work and what will happen to him if my demands aren't met." The older man looked over and grinned, "So, ready to show me City Hall? I think delivering the Mayor's corpse will prove sufficiently … unnerving."

Xander, normally, would have been a little put off by the idea, but he knew a few things about wanting revenge, so he carefully worded his next question, "Methos … are you sure you want to do this?" The old man looked up at him and he went on, "I completely understand that you hated this guy … but what is it that you really have planned? What good is delivering him to City Hall going to do? The cops will be all over you."

"I don't think you see the scope of things, Alexander," Methos said quietly. "The Mayor is a head of this particular snake, somewhat important and a driving force, but not the only one; if he's been in power for the past eighty years that I know of, that means he's seeded people he has chosen, personally, into positions of power in the city – the school board, the hospitals, the police department, and such. Snyder is proof it."

Xander nodded at this, seeing where it was going, "So, if we show up and deliver the body, in a way we're claiming that they should consider … what, leaving?"

Methos shrugged, "More along the lines of leaving us alone, but also showing them that if they don't play by the rules of society, they end up dead."

"I won't kill people, Methos." Xander felt his stomach clench as memories of the men he'd killed came to his mind, "I've killed too many already."

"It's who we are, Alex," Methos pointed out somewhat kindly. "We're killers, pure and simple, and right now we need to get across to certain people that such behavior as the former Mayor's will not be warranted or tolerated." He stood up and grabbed his jacket, "I'll bring my car, you get the Mayor and your sword – we have a delivery to make to City Hall."

Xander had a sinking feeling in his gut, "Why do I get the feeling we're about to do something very over the top and potentially dangerous?"

Methos gave him an edged grin, "Because you've hung around Amanda as long as you have and know who you're dealing with, with me."

Xander sighed, "That's what I thought." Was this what Giles felt like when the Briton had to deal with him?

(Later – City Hall)

"I'm telling you that this is a bad idea!" John Snyder's voice carried above all others in the small chamber, the tone in it silencing all talk of 'removing' the threat that had killed the Mayor.

Frank Stein snorted, "I can arrest him for Murdering the Mayor, John, and make him have an 'accident' in the jail."

Snyder snarled, "The Mayor already KILLED him once, Frank – what makes you think he won't just kill you too?"

Dr. Janice Mallory, head of the Sunnydale Memorial Hospital (which had been tentatively picked to be renamed after Mayor Wilkins, fairly soon), shook her head, "It's not medically possible for a dead body to come back to life without … outside forces at work, John."

Snyder sighed, "Jan, I know we're divorced, but will you PLEASE listen to me for a second? THINK about where we are, what is under the school and what roams the streets of this God forsaken town at night!" This made his ex-wife jerk back and allowed him to continue, "This new teacher, Pierson, and Harris are both FAR too dangerous for us to attempt to deal with in the normal means."

Marge Daily, the Mayor's secretary and a despicable woman, snorted in an un-ladylike fashion, "Grow a spine, Snyder."

"In case you've forgotten on just who Harris is, Marge, maybe you'll remember the incident that KILLED Flutie? Harris LEAD that pack of reprobates, albeit temporarily, and after reading the ritual you should know what that means – the animal possession made him the leader because he fit all the criteria, which means that the front he put on all those years was just that, a front." John sat down in his chair and looked at Allen Finch, the temporary Mayor, "Well, Allen? You're the Mayor, time to make a few decisions."

Allen stood, ready to speak (though he looked like he was sweating buckets), but the door being forced open stopped him – a body sailed through the air, a headless one, and turned to dust as it did, which meant that the vampires guarding the door were no more. Through the door stepped two people, both of them armed with swords, but the second one dragging a basket from the mail room that had a large bundle in it and spoke, "Sorry we're late – traffic was a nightmare."

Methos sneered at the five people in the small chamber as he calmly wiped the blade of his sword off with his hand, "Yes, indeed it was. Greetings, I am Adam Pierson." Snyder looked ready to wet himself, again, while the others were all in various stages of outburst, so he went on, holding up a hand, "Please, don't get up – we're just dropping off a package."

Stein stood and drew his revolver, "Don't move or I'll shoot!"

Methos gave the man a look of pure contempt as he heard Alexander struggling with the Mayor's body, "Shut up, you ignorant civil servant. The big boys are speaking now, so go play in your little sandbox … or piss in it."

Stein's response was to empty his .38 Special into Methos' chest, staggering the Immortal as the bullets blew through, but his triumphant smirk faded, as did his color, as Methos righted himself and snarled. After a few seconds, Stein was able to stammer out, "What are you?"

Xander threw the Mayor's body onto the table with a grunt before answering, "We're something that give the vampires chills, Stein, so shut the fuck up." Methos grinned at the boy, who then pointed his weapon at the woman with … pointed teeth? "Move again and you join Wilkins in death, honey."

The woman hissed and her tongue forked out, "I'll suck the marrow from your bones, boy."

"With an overbite like that, it'll be the only thing you suck on, fangy," Xander snarked, which made Methos repress the urge to snicker. He'd have to reward the boy, later, for that.

Methos turned his attention back to the others, glaring coldly at Snyder, "I do believe you know what I'm about to say, Snyder, so sit down and be quiet." The troll complied and Methos went on, "Now, as you may or may not have guessed, I'm the one who killed Mayor Richard Wilkins, the First, Second and Third, but given that he sacrificed myself and my then-wife to a demon over a century ago, I thought it only fitting. Now, I'm not here to kill any of you, though believe me, I'm tempted," he added with a glare to Stein, "but instead I leave you with information and a warning. I was out and about during the day, so I am not a vampire, nor am I a demon – what I am is one of four who inspired a book in the Bible, the Book of Revelations, and trust me when I say that, even though I've been atoning for my sins for over two thousand years, Death still resides within me."

He let that hang in the air for several seconds and liked the reactions he saw – Finch passed out, the doctor looked ready to join him, Stein was a pale as a fresh-milk-faced Irish lass should have been and the woman, who had been snarling at Xander, now looked intrigued, "My warning is that I do not play games – attempt anything against myself or my student, and you shall be dealt with in a fashion that will be quite unpleasant. Neither myself nor Alexander are against killing, nor do we really want to run this town – when Finch wakes up, tell him to run it well, or else he'll be replaced."

Before any more was said, the woman who had threatened Xander lunged at him and, with a cold proficiency, Xander dodged her strike and beheaded her – where she landed, the body dissolved into a rather soupy mess and the head dissolved to leave nothing but the skull, teeth and all. From the interior of the skull, a snake slithered out and Xander made short work of it with removing its head.

Stein took that point to rush Methos, but apparently he forgot that Methos was armed as he found himself impaled on Methos' leveled sword, right through the heart. He looked up at Methos, who indeed looked like Death as his world went black, and slid off of the sword as his knees buckled.

Methos looked down at Stein's body and then looked over at both Snyder and the Doctor, "Well? Are we going to make this a mass murder instead of a double?"

Snyder shook his head, "No, we won't." Snyder looked over at Harris, who was idly poking at the Mayor's body, "What happened to you, kid? I know Tony was tough …"

Harris gave him a chilled look, "LIFE happened to me, Snyder, life and everything that I've been fighting in this goddamned town for almost three years now. They say that you don't change the Devil, that he changes you – think of who and what I am as proof of that statement while you tell Finch to straighten up and fly right." Harris looked down at the Mayor's covered body and, after a moment, raised his sword and decapitated the body, taking the head by the hair, "Funny thing is, is that even if there had been an election I wouldn't have voted for him."

"I know," Methos chimed in. "Politicians are a slimy lot to begin with, but him more-so than most." He put away his sword into his jacket and looked at both remaining people, "Good night, you two, and find a way to dispose of these bodies – I'm sure you can come up with something fitting for Stein, like a drawer in the morgue." With that, he and Alexander walked out of the chamber, the Mayor's head not even dripping blood as the skin appeared to be crackling and drying.

John fell into his seat, his hands trembling even as he heard his ex rush to the trash can and throw up; he thought he had known just what it was to be a hard person … but with Pierson and Harris, the term 'Hard' had just taken a new meaning, "Janice, call the morgue and have them take Stein's body. Tell them … tell them he accidentally fell on a kitchen knife." He looked over at Allen, who was just waking up, and snarled, "Wake up, you simpleton! We have murders to cover up."

(Sunnydale Library – later)

Xander strode into the room, Methos having said that he had something else to go check up on, and was greeted by the sight of the room's occupants being divide in two – Jenny faced off against Buffy, against Giles and the worst sign appeared to be that Faith was being the referee for both fights, "What the fuck is going on here?"

Buffy snarled, "Jenny's turned traitor!"

Willow, at the same time, pitched in, "She's working against us again!"

Giles put in his two cents as well, "Buffy and Willow want Angel back on the Hellmouth and don't seem to understand that it is not their call to make and blame Jenny for it."

Faith chimed in as well, "They're all losin' their minds, Xand!"

He looked at Jenny, who was stonily silent, "Well?"

Jenny sighed, "Buffy asked how Angelus was fairing in Los Angeles, I told her the truth, she wanted his location and I refused to give it to her. Somehow that makes me a traitor, Xander, and Willow has taken Buffy's side, as always, in making someone else the guilty party in any travesty."

Xander blinked and then sighed, reaching into his pocket and removing the now-cleaned skull that had once belonged to Richard Wilkins, "Alas, poor Richard, we are surrounded by children."

Buffy, Willow, Jenny and Giles all shouted, "Hey!" or, in Giles' instance, "Oi!" as he put the skull down on the table and looked at Faith, "I'm surprised you let them live this long."

Faith just shrugged, "Figured you'd be mad if I took out Miss C, given she's hot and all."

He smirked a little even as both Willow and Buffy growled at Jenny's little smirk, "Not even going there, Faith." He turned the skull on the table to face the door and sat down into a chair, his lap almost instantly being filled by Faith's bottom, "So, Buffy's not getting what she wants and is raising a stink about it?"

Faith wiggled in his lap, "Pretty much."

He groaned, and not just in disgust at Buffy's reaction, "Perfect."

Jenny, it appeared, wanted to change the subject even as Buffy looked ready to explode, "What did you and Mr. Pierson do?"

His hands on Faith's waist, he pulled her close and grinned, "Met with the 'Inner Council' of the Mayor and … convinced them to see things from our point of view. I think that Allen Finch will be good for the city, though we need a new Chief Detective." They all gave him a look and he shrugged, "From what I understand, he fell on a kitchen knife, tragically died and all, and now Snyder and his apparent ex-wife are covering up like they do everything else."

Buffy flared, "You killed him?"

"No, Adam did … sort of." He yawned and pet Faith, who purred slightly, "Of course, Stein shot Adam six times, so it could be considered justifiable homicide. Mayor's secretary was also taken out, but I think she was a demon of some kind – had a snake in her head." The rest blinked at him, even Faith stopped purring for a second, but then she resumed and he went on, "Either way, I think things will be getting better after a while, at least on the whole 'total incompetence' thing with the PD."

Giles was the first to speak, the others apparently digesting the information somewhat slower, "And … where is Adam now?"

Xander shrugged, enjoying the feeling of Faith in his lap, "Said he had something to take care of in town, and to now follow him. I figure that I like my head where it is, so I'm listening."

(Sunnydale Morgue)

Methos sat outside of the morgue drawer that held the body of Francis Nathaniel Stein, his sword in hand, and idly wondered just how it was that all of the medical personnel had gone home before dark and the body had been put up, not to mention that the drawers had internal lock-release mechanisms. "Probably better to release vampires with," he muttered as he heard a muffled gasp and struggling from within the drawer. He opened it and pulled out the rack, revealing the now-living, now-Immortal form of Frank Stein, "Hello, Detective."

Frank just looked at him, looking shocked, "What happened? Where am I? What are you doing?"

Methos shrugged and raised his sword, "In order - I killed, you, the morgue, and I'm about to kill you again. There can be only one."

Moments later, lightning blew out the lights in the hallway and the room itself, and a moment later Methos walked out of the cooling room, shivering as he brushed off ice crystals from his shoulders, "Nasty business, the Quickening – morgues lose more coolant rooms that way …"

AN: Quick chapter, I know, but it ties up a few loose ends and sets up the next part of the story. What do you think? I hope to end the story soon, but with the way things go with my stories, I'll believe it when I see it – reviews, please.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

AN: School is over – consider things actually went well and they all graduated (except Faith, she's still subjected to another year of high school). Buffy and Willow are still going to Sunnydale University, Giles is now a gentleman of leisure, Wuss is the librarian, Finch is the Mayor and Methos has resigned his post as a teacher (you'll see why, later).

AN2: TONS of flashbacks, I hope they aren't too confusing. And now, on to the good stuff.

(Flashback - Sunnydale)

"You know, I think I almost miss the whole Apocalypse at the end of the school year thing," Buffy said as she took off her graduation gown to reveal her semi-formal clothing.

"Then you need help, Buffy," Willow said as she did the same, neatly folding her gown.

"Could be worse," Oz chipped in, doing the same as the girls.

Xander looked at him, "How's that?"

"We could have blown up the school."

Faith snarled, from her seat in Xander's lap, "Would have suited me just fine – YOU don't have another year left."

Oz nodded, "There is that." He looked over at Xander, then, frowning, "So, how are you going to do this?"

Xander arched an eyebrow, "Do what?"

"Date Faith, a minor, while you're in college." Their SAT scores had come in and, while Willow had done as well as expected, Buffy did better than them all and Xander had fallen just above average at 1100 – his ego could handle the fact he'd been beaten by two girls, easily, but the galling part of it all was that Buffy had done it with ease, so he chalked it up to a Slayer thing. Xander had been accepted into UC Sunnydale (aka Sunnydale U) without any real problems, but still, Oz was right – what about Faith?

Faith, apparently, had the answer already, "So what? Stud's mine – I can wait … well, for a while." She turned and looked at Xander, "January tenth, stud, I'm legal."

He nodded, knowing what that meant – he and Faith would be missing classes that day, "Duly noted."

Oz nodded at this, "Problem solved, then." They all walked out of the back room of the library and met up with the adults of the group, at which point Oz asked, "So … now what?"

"Whatever it is that you do over the summer," Adam said with a grin on his face, "but Alexander and I have a trip to take up to Washington."

Xander groaned – ever since the Mayor had been taken care of, Methos had been taking to teaching him all kinds of things as far as sword work and being an Immortal went, but had also been planning a get-together at a bar named 'Joe's' and something about a 'breaking in' party. Xander had called Amanda about this and, once she had gotten over her gales of laughter, had not been heartened to hear that he'd be fine, 'just trust him, Alexander.'

Methos shot him a look, "No comments from the cheap seats – Mac kept me from doing this with Richie, but there's not Scot around to save you from my plans."

Faith glared at Methos, "Boytoy's straight, so don't go makin' him bi, ya hear?"

Methos snorted, "I'd never DREAM of taking away your favorite plaything, Slayer, not in that respect – I like my head right where it is." Methos walked over and clapped Xander on the shoulder, "It's a time honored tradition, my boy."

Xander arched an eyebrow before he looked at Giles, "Why do I get the feeling I'm going to end up paying for this?"

Giles only chuckled, "Because you're probably right, Xander."

(End Flashback)

"Ow." Xander's memory started to clear from the quick one he'd had from just before he left school for the last time, and even as he opened his eyes, carefully, he wondered just why the hell he was wearing a lampshade on his head.

"Seconded." He looked over at the person who had spoken and saw, somewhat surprisingly, that the speaker was not only female, but also as naked as he was … and when had they gotten to bed?

"Um … I don't mean to sound rude … but who are you?" He took off the lampshade and looked around – brick walls, dark wood furniture, a slightly musty smell in the room, it was a bedroom, alright, but whose bedroom was it?

His bedmate looked up at him and frowned, "I could ask you the same question, kid."

Her eyes were like a stormy blue cloud, her skin slightly weathered, her hair like a raven's wing and … oh, fuck, NOW he understood why his head hurt so much – she was an Immortal, "Um … Alexander Harris."

She blinked and then nodded, "Cassandra." She looked around and frowned, "What are we doing in Duncan's bedroom?"

Xander shrugged a little, shaking his head and looking around for a second to find his pants, "Not sure." Finding them, he reached down and promptly fell out of bed, "Ow."

Cassandra leaned over, the sheet falling away just a touch, "Are you … okay?" He looked up and saw a slight smirk on her face, "Well, at least you can say that no woman would laugh."

He took a breath and repressed his want to blush, instead just pulling on his pants and buttoning them up, looking anywhere but her as he found another pair and tossed them to her, "Um … I hate to ask … but did we …?"

Cassandra, after pulling the sheet away, doing something with her hands under the sheet, and then shrugging started pulling on her pants, answering, "No, no sex, only sleep, Alexander." She crawled off of the bed, still topless, and kissed him on the cheek, "It's nice to see there are still some gentlemen out there." With that, she walked off to find her top, leaving Xander there to contemplate just what had happened the previous night.

(Flashback – Previous Day – Joe's Bar)

"Hey, Adam," came a smoky, aged voice from behind the bar as they walked into a small blues bar that Xander automatically felt nice in. The man behind the bar had salt and pepper hair, more salt than anything, a lined, weathered face and a friendly aura about him that Xander immediately trusted.

"Hey, Joe." Methos walked in and took up a stool at the bar, "Joe, meet Xander. Xander, meet Joe."

The man looked at him and nodded, "Pleasure, kid."

Xander nodded back, "Nice place."

Joe grinned, "It pays the bills." The guy reached down and pulled out two bottles, though not the same kind, and put them out in front of them, "So, Adam, what brings you here?"

Methos twisted the top off of his beer, "He knows who I am, Joe, he's Amanda's student."

Joe nodded, "I know, I've read his file."

Xander twisted off the top of his own beer (though of the root variety) looked at Methos for a second and then caught a flash of blue on Joe's left wrist, "You're a Watcher?"

Joe nodded, "Not many know who we are, kid, but then again, not many have Ripper Giles as their Watcher." The mortal man looked at Methos, "So, what brings you here, old man?"

Methos snorted, "Watch who you're calling 'old', brat, and I brought Xander here for the standard Watcher's Initiation."

Joe winced for some reason and Xander's ill feeling came back, "Come on, Methos, don't do this to the kid."

Methos gave Joe a grin, "It's alright, Joe, I think he can handle it."

(End Flashback)

Xander pulled on his shirt as that figment of his memory faded and, when he looked up, he saw the still-topless Cassandra (and was the room THAT cold?) in the doorway, grinning at him and motioning for him to follow her.

In the living room of the loft-style apartment, there were several pieces of nice art and more than a few priceless antiques, but by far the most eye-catching thing was on the couch – Methos, dressed in a toga and spooning Duncan MacLeod of the clan MacLeod. Now, that in and of itself wasn't what was eye-catching, but what was, was that not only was Duncan wearing a skirt … no, a kilt, knee socks and no shoes, but his hair, which he had re-grown down to his back, was in PIGTAILS!

Even as he heard Cassandra rooting around for what he assumed was a camera, Xander felt an evil grin cross his face as he turned and started to help Cassandra find that camera (and was it really that cold in the room? It wasn't that she wasn't hard to look at, but … she was distracting him.)

Revenge, as the Sicilian's were quoted to have said, was a dish best served cold, and Xander wanted to serve up heaping helpings of it after the previous night.

(Flashback)

He and Methos had been at Joe's Bar for about an hour at that point, and Xander was currently in a rather heated debate on which the better Blues musician was, BB King or Eric Clapton when he felt another presence in his mind, the presence of another Immortal.

The door opened and Duncan MacLeod walked into the bar, a grin on his face, "Joe!"

Joe looked up and waved, "Hey, Duncan." Joe turned back, "Kid, if you think Clapton is a better Blue man than King, you need your head checked."

Xander looked over and waved, "Hey Duncan, and Joe, I'm just saying there is more to Blues than BB King."

"Hello, Xander," Duncan returned, his tone just a little cooler than it had been when he greeted Joe.

Joe sighed, "Duncan, please."

Duncan glared at Joe and hissed, "He shot me, repeatedly!"

"And you were angry – do you blame him for not wanting to lose his head?" Joe's question hit the mark, apparently, as Duncan calmed and took a seat, accepting the beer that was put before him, "And, kid, I think that Ripper needs to get his head out of England and try some King."

Xander snorted, "Good luck – one time I suggested that he looked at me and called me something even I won't repeat."

Joe snorted, "Knowing Ripper, you're probably better off doing just that." Joe then looked over at Methos, who was idly chatting up a blushing and giggling waitress, and hit the bar a few times with his half-empty bottle of cola, "Hey, Old Man, the third member of your party is here."

Xander and Duncan both repressed a snicker even as Methos shot Joe a dark look, "Don't call me that, Joe." Joe, for his part, just gave Methos a completely innocent look that fell flat as Duncan snickered even louder and Xander shook his head.

"Joe, you need to put more into the eyes if you want to pull the 'I'm innocent' routine." The mortal man nodded even as Methos sniffed, "Now, will somebody tell me what's going on?"

Duncan shook his head, "It's a ritual amongst the Watcher's most recent graduates that Methos wants to put you through."

Xander shook his head, backing away and his hands in the air, "Oh, no, no way, nuh-uh. This kid's been through WAY too many rituals already in his short life and I'm NOT going through another one."

Methos grinned at Xander as Duncan stood and clapped his hands on Xander's shoulders, "It's a rite of passage, Xander, and as Duncan wouldn't let me do it with Richie, I get to do it with you."

Xander looked at Joe for help, but the old man shook his head and hobbled over towards the cash register, "Delivery was made a half-hour ago to Duncan's dojo, Adam, and I expect payment in the morning."

Methos nodded as Duncan turned Xander around and marched him to the door, "Oh, the bill will be settled, Joseph."

(End Flashback)

FLASH!

The Polaroid camera spat out the last picture with a whir even as looked up to see Cassandra walking back into the room, finally wearing a top (though why was it that he felt so suddenly gypped?), and Xander grinned, handing her the developing print, "You realize they're going to kill us, right?"

Cassandra gave him a vastly superior smirk as she took the picture, "No, Alexander, they will try." She handed him his wallet, "Now, let's wait for them to wake up – as I now recall, we weren't properly introduced last night."

He put the camera down and nodded, "Indeed we were not …"

(Flashback)

Xander lifted up his head slowly as he felt an oddly familiar buzzing in his head, blinking owlishly as both Methos and Duncan (who, for some reason, was now in his kilt and knee socks) jerked their heads towards the now-rumbling service elevator, "Huh?"

Methos swore softly as he stood up, though a touch unsteadily, and grabbed for his sword, missing it three times before finally nabbing the blade, "Get up, you bloody Highlander! We're being invaded."

Duncan, even as Xander staggered to his feet, only rolled over into a pile of spent beer cans, hitting the ground heavily before he started to hunt around for his katana.

Xander staggered to his feet, feeling pretty numb from the tips of his fingers to his shoulders, as the elevator opened to reveal a woman with dark hair, a sweater and nice pants, "Wow."

"Duncan? Why are you wearing a … kilt …?" The woman's question cut off to Xander's ears as he pitched forwards – the floor was looking comfy at this point.

Duncan looked at the woman with righteous indignation and shouted, "'Tis nae a kilt! 'Tis a skirt!" Sadly, he failed to notice the woman's now-intense glare at the other occupant, "What're ye doin' here, lass?"

"I could ask HIM the same question, Duncan." Cassandra glared at Methos, who was busily chuckling away, "What are you laughing at?"

"Lightweight," the older Immortal said, looking at the young man that had passed out not long after she had gotten into the room. She was surprised to feel that the child was an Immortal, fairly young, yet powerful, and more to the point, given the way he was laying, very blitzed. "What brings you here, Cassandra?"

"I came to speak to Duncan on a matter of Prophecy." There was a noise from the floor and she looked down to see the young man and that he had raised his right arm, a single digit in the air.

"Fuck prophecy and the horse the bitch rode in on!" The child looked up and glared at her in a drunken manner, "Turn around and leave – I want nothing to do with any prophecy." With that, the child passed out again, leaving Cassandra to shake her head.

Duncan nodded and stamped his foot down, shattering a glass bottle on the floor, "Amen! … Ow."

Cassandra blinked, again, and then looked at Methos, who was muttering again about 'lightweights', "What is going on, Methos?"

"They are being initiated, Cassandra," the Immortal told her in a rather clear voice before reaching down and grabbing a beer, tossing it to her. "Join in, if you like, and we'll talk of Prophecy in the morning."

Cassandra looked first at the beer, then back at Methos, then down at the boy and shrugged her shoulders, taking the boy's seat and using him as a footstool, "It can wait."

(End Flashback)

"So how, exactly, did you and I end up naked in bed, Cassandra?" She looked at the confused young man and felt a blush tinge her cheeks, "Not that I minded, but I'm kinda seeing someone else and she knows how to use a sword."

"I … am not entirely sure of that myself, Alexander." He quirked an eyebrow at her and she went on, "Methos and I have an … odd relationship, to say the least, and when he challenged me to a drinking contest, I could not and would not refuse it."

Alexander looked down at the photos then and an evil grin worthy of Death on a Horse spread across his face, "Well, somehow I get the idea that Methos is behind this … so I'm keeping one or two of these as blackmail material." She nodded at him and he added, "And it's Xander, short for Alexander, which I only get called when I'm in trouble … well, more trouble than I'm generally always in."

She arched an eyebrow at him, "And might I ask where you're from?"

"Sunnydale, California."

Cassandra hissed slightly under her breath and made a gesture to ward off evil, "The Hellmouth."

Xander arched an eyebrow at her, "You've heard of it?"

She nodded, "It's … rather infamous."

He chuckled, "That's putting it mildly. Yup, that's my little corner of hell on Earth, what's yours?"

"Romania, currently," she mumbled, her mind whirling. Alex … Xander was form the Hellmouth! This could not have worked out better if she had planned it herself, "Tell me, Xander, what was it you meant by what you said last night, about Prophecy?"

Xander snorted and reached over to grab an empty cup, the aroma of coffee filling the small kitchen, "Prophecy and I have a mutual respect and dislike for one another, Cassandra – it knows that it can screw with my life as much as it wants as long as it recognizes and accepts that I'm going to stop it from hurting my friends any way I can."

She blinked at this, "You … stop Prophecy?"

Xander nodded crisply, "When it's about the end of the world, the death of a friend or ally, or general badness … yeah, we do." He grinned slightly, "I get a kick out of bitch-slapping Prophecy."

"But … it's Prophecy…"

Xander shrugged at her and poured them both a cup of coffee, "Sugar?" She shook her head and he added sugar (a lot of it) to his coffee, "So? It's not like it's written in stone, and even if it is, then it's generally sandstone."

Cassandra opened her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted by Duncan's groan of, "Ow," and his rolling off of the couch he and Methos were on. She looked and saw him land on his face, his kilt up in the back and exposing he had 'gone commando' under his kilt.

"My eyes!" She turned and saw Xander rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands, vigorously, "Gah, cover him up!"

She sighed and went over, using her foot to cover Duncan's backside, "Wimp." She then looked over at Methos, in his toga, and grinned as she reared back and slammed her foot into his gut, "Wake up, Oh Nosed One."

Methos' response was simple, in Xander's eyes, and rather dastardly as he vomited all over Cassandra's pants and Duncan's couch from the force of the kick – the woman howled in outrage for a moment before she sighed and removed her pants, revealing that she'd found her panties somewhere in the process, and stormed off to the gym locker room soak the garment while finding something else to wear.

"Ow." Xander looked over at Methos, who was rubbing the back of his hand over his mouth while holding his other one to his stomach, "She's in fine humor this morning – what did you do to her, Xander?"

"Nothing, I was a total gentleman, Methos."

Methos gave him an odd look, "Why? That's why I stripped you both and put you into the same bed, so you two could have fun."

Xander arched an eyebrow for a moment before grabbing the other cup of coffee and walking to Methos, "Here you go, old man." With that, he dumped the scalding cup of liquid into the old man's crotch and flung his own into Methos' face.

From the bathroom, Cassandra could hear Methos' howl of agony and then the sound of someone (Xander, most likely) slamming a coffee mug into someone's head, most probably Methos' – she repressed a smile as she scrubbed the vomit out of her pants leg and said nothing as Alexander stormed into the woman's locker room, a pair of pants in his hands a few moments later, "I think you want the other locker room, Xander."

Xander, it appeared, was not in good humor as he snarled and, after turning, slammed his fist into the locker door, denting it and breaking several bones in his hand, "That son of a bitch! He KNOWS I love Faith and he pulls some shit like that!"

Cassandra took the pants from his other hand and put them on, finding that Duncan's denim jeans were a touch on the large side for her, "Oh, he's good at that, Xander, but don't hold it against him – he's a child that never grew up and doesn't know how to act like an adult." She walked over and pulled him to the bench, sitting him down and then straddled his legs, facing him, "Now, listen to me carefully."

"Get off – I'm firmly committed to Faith."

Cassandra shook her head, "If I wanted to bed you I would have relieved THAT particular tension this morning, while we were both in bed and naked, now be quiet and listen." To emphasize her point, she reached up and grabbed Xander by his nose, her storm-blue eyes boring into his own eyes, "Methos is a great many things, and as I said, he and I have a history together, but I do not think he meant any harm by doing this."

Xander looked at her and, after a moment, she released his nose, "Thank you, and he should know better – he's five thousand years old."

She shrugged but did not move from her place, "He should, but he does now. Now, I find myself needing clothing, and I do believe Methos will be providing them – make sure you bring your wallet." She smiled at him, patted him on the cheek and then got off of him, walking out of the locker room and the dojo.

On a hunch, Xander stood up and grabbed his wallet – there, inside of it, was a debit card and a hand-written PIN number, along with a note that said, 'Note to self – change PIN number, I think Cassandra knows this one.'

Xander shook his head and put his wallet and the card back in his pocket – something screwy was going on here.

(Later – Joe's Bar)

Methos looked at Cassandra as she entered and sighed, "How much did this shopping excursion cost me?"

Cassandra, dressed in what appeared to be the finest blue silk business suit he had ever seen, obviously hand-tailored to mould to her body, merely smiled as she stepped to the side and revealed Xander, dressed in a black silk suit, also tailored to his body, "Oh, you'll find out, M … Adam." He winced at the tone, but he wasn't worried – five thousand years, after all, taught one to hoard away for a rainy day. If he wanted to, he could purchase the land and mineral rites to Texas, if he wanted to …

Duncan looked up at them, his face sour, "Where have you two been and what did you do to Adam this morning, Xander?"

"We were shopping, Duncan, and what Alexander did to Adam this morning is the result of the Old Man's meddling in things he shouldn't have been," Cassandra said somewhat coolly as she took a seat, motioning Xander to sit next to her as she tapped the bar. "Two of your finest, Mr. Dawson."

Joe nodded, "What the pretty lady wants, the pretty lady gets."

She smiled at him dazzlingly before turning back to Methos, "Now, about this Prophecy …"

"Hold on, before we go there," Joe cut in, his eyes bright, "the boys have a bit of a balance to pay me."

Duncan shook his head, "Not 'boys', Joe-"

Methos finished and pointed to Xander, "Boy, as in Alexander."

Joe nodded, as if being let in on the big joke, and then looked at Xander, "Dishes are in the back."

Xander just looked at Joe, "Do you really think I didn't see this coming, Joe? I have Ripper Giles as my Watcher, and he's cued me into more than a few of the … 'rites of passage' that go on, especially the ones that leave young graduates broke or in debt for a LONG time." Joe arched an eyebrow at him as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a fine leather wallet, "How much?" Joe quoted him the price and Xander paid it … in all one hundred dollar bills, "Keep the change."

Methos looked at Xander for a moment and then looked at Cassandra, "I'm really not going to like my next bank statement, am I?"

Cassandra only smiled sweetly at him, but that sweet smile had a sword's edge to it, "No, you won't."

(Later – DeSalvo's Gym)

"Alright, Cassandra, what's going on with this 'Prophecy'?" She looked over at Methos, who appeared to be rather irritated, and smiled enigmatically, which didn't do much for his temper, "Well?"

"It involves a pair of Immortals and a child they bear, Methos, so I'll hope you forgive me for not wanting to tell the Watcher." Cassandra enjoyed the stunned look on the faces of both Duncan and Methos, but looked over at Xander, who looked confused, "What is it?"

"Um, not to sound dim, but … I didn't think Immortals COULD have kids, Cassandra."

She nodded, "Indeed, we do not, which is what makes this Prophecy so different."

Methos held up a hand, "Are you sure it means our kind of Immortal, Cassandra? Vampires, for all intents and purposes, are also immortal."

Cassandra shook her head, "No, it's Immortal, as there is to be someone else in the production of the child, and she is very much human – who would sleep with a vampire to begin with? It's disgusting."

Methos looked over at Alexander, who was looking as if he was going to comment, "Xander, don't – it's a sore subject with Cassandra." Xander appeared to drop the subject and Methos went on, "Okay, so two Immortals and a third party – this still doesn't change the fact that Immortals can't have children."

Cassandra shrugged, "Generally, I would agree, but the Prophecy is surprisingly specific on the location that this will take place, Methos – it's on the Mouth of Hell."

"Aw, fuck me." She looked over at Xander, who had his face buried into his hand, "That's the last thing I need on my mind right now, Cassandra – any idea who is supposed to do this?"

She shook her head, "That is where it gets somewhat vague, even as far as prophecy goes – two females, one male, and they each have an element needed to create this child."

He arched an eyebrow at her and obviously repressed the phrase, 'well, at least someone is going to be having a good time' from being uttered.

"Apparently all three will provide a link to the separate parts of the world to allow the child to exist – supernatural, physical and spiritual." She rubbed her brow and felt a familiar migraine coming on, "It is the titles that each are given that concerns me."

Duncan looked up, a thoughtful frown on his face, "What are they?"

"One is called 'Mother of Soil', another is called 'Childe of Power' and the last is called 'Protector of Man'." She looked over at Xander even as his head slammed, repeatedly, into the desk, "Needless to say …"

"Fuck (slam) this (slam) can't (slam) be (slam) good (slamslamslam)." Xander looked up at her and she could see not only had he broken his nose, but also the anger in his eyes, "You're wrong."

She shook her head even as Methos spoke up, "There are only two Alexander's who are Immortal, Xander, and the other is a monk who has taken a vow of celibacy."

Xander shook his head, "No, you HAVE to be wrong. I am NOT a buttmonkey of prophecy!"

Cassandra smiled, "As you said last night in your … greeting to me." He looked up at her and she expounded, "You said, quote, 'fuck prophecy and the horse the bitch rode in on'."

Duncan and Methos both snorted even as she saw Xander turn a rather interesting shade of red, "Well, that's how I feel about prophecy, for the most part."

"Even one that may grant you a child, a true child begat from your loins?" Cassandra walked over and sat next to him, laying her hand on top of his, "Xander, do you know how many female Immortals would kill for the chance that you may be able to provide, if the Prophecy is true?"

Xander looked up at her, "Oh, so now I'm only seen as a possible stud horse?"

Cassandra shrugged, against squeezing his hand, "It's no always easy being the center of a prophecy, Xander."

Xander stood up and shook his head, "No, it isn't, but I'm only the center of it if I allow it and I won't."

Cassandra stood up, her hands finding their way to his shoulders, "You can't always fight prophecy, Xander."

Methos then chipped in, "Why are you so touchy-feely now, Cassandra? Do you think you can be part of that prophecy?"

Xander turned to her even as she felt a blush enter her cheeks, "I'll admit, it does intrigue me, Methos, but I'm too old to rear a child, and I'm afraid that if I did, I wouldn't be that good of a mother, given … my problems." She then patted Xander on the cheek and went back to sit down, "So, that is all there is as far as the Prophecy goes … at least all that I can discern from my visions."

"It doesn't have to be Xander, you know." She looked at Duncan, who had a slight frown on his face, "I was a Champion, a Protector of Man, so it could be me."

Cassandra shook her head, "No, I do not think it could be, Duncan, because another Prophecy says that, during this time, you will be killing your brother in swords to protect The Game."

Duncan shot to his feet, "What?"

She shrugged, "It is what has been revealed to me, Duncan, so I do not think you can father a child and kill your brother at the same time." He looked ready to explode again, so she centered herself and used The Voice, "Quiet, Duncan. All will be explained in time."

Xander, even as Cassandra bent over to massage her forehead, could be heard asking Methos, "Does she do that a lot?"

"Only when a certain Scot annoys her, Xander," was Methos' dry response.

Xander chuckled, "Oh, so she does it a lot?"

Cassandra whimpered even as Duncan shook himself out of The Voice's thrall – two of them, how could she deal with two of them?

(Sunnydale – a week later)

The rest of the week had passed pretty much without incident – several more 'rites' had been gone through, most of which had involved some form of public humiliation on Xander's part (one such had also gotten him banned from a karaoke bar in San Diego), a few threats were made to Duncan to show Joe some of the photos taken 'the morning after' and to have them archived, yet another session of waking up next to a naked Cassandra (though this time she knew how she got there and wasn't telling him), and Xander was now back home. Sure, things had been fun, and only occasionally serious as the group had been accosted by a young pup of an Immortal, claiming he would take all of their heads as a matter of honor to his clan (Duncan had taken offense to that and had given the boy an object lesson in the art of sword fighting), and both he and Duncan had come to an almost grudging kind of respect for one another when they'd been forced to watch the other's back during a bar fight that Methos and Cassandra had started by hitting on the same woman.

He shut off the car as he pulled into his driveway during the early morning hours and sat back in his seat – it felt good to stop driving, it really did, but he still had to get from his car to his bed, so that would take a few more minutes, then he could sleep.

A minute later (and a little swearing to get his bag out of the trunk of his restored '53 Bel Air), he was walking into his living room, where he was greeted by Faith … and a dead body, "Faith? What happened?"

Faith looked up at him, tears streaming down her cheeks, "She said she was here for your help, Xand, and I tried to save her, I really did!" Faith latched herself onto his chest and began to cry heaving sobs even as he wrapped his arms around her – this was not good.

After several minutes of calming Faith down enough to get the story out of her, his began to have his suspicions of the woman's identity – Faith had been out patrolling with Buffy the night before and they'd found a woman being attacked by vampires … and she was using a short sword to defend herself with. They'd managed to get the woman to relative safety, but she had died of her grievous wounds not long after sunrise and not long after saying she was here for his head – Buffy had gone to get Giles, leaving Faith alone with the body, and thus here he was with her now.

"Faith, it's okay now." He kissed her on the forehead and walked her away from the body, "Go clean up and get some sleep – I'll be up in a bit." She looked at him worriedly for a moment and the nodded, going up the stairs and leaving him alone with the body.

Tall, blonde, pretty and with fair skin, her clothes torn and bloody, revealing a good portion of her body, and her hand still clutched around the short sword she'd been fighting with, Tanya looked better than most vampire attack victims he had ever run into, but why wasn't she-

Tanya's back arched and she gasped back to life even as he sat down across from her reviving body – after a few seconds, her head snapped over towards him, her eyes wild but calming, "Hello, Tanya."

As if sensing that she was somewhat exposed, she blushed lightly and pulled the afghan down over her body, sword still clutched in her hands, "Alexander."

"Why are you here? I don't want to fight you."

She looked confused for a moment and then looked down at her hand, the sword clutched in it, and blushed, dropping it, "I am not here for your head, Alexander."

He arched an eyebrow, "Then why are you here?"

"I need your help." She sat up, holding the cover to her body even as he reached into his bag and pulled out a shirt for her to put on, "I could not stay there anymore, Alexander."

"Xander, call me Xander, and what happened?" He handed her the shirt and Tanya put on, stripping off her old shirt without a hint of embarrassment, "I thought you were married?"

She looked down at her hands, his shirt on her now but not buttoned, "I killed him."

Oh, yeah, nothing was ever easy.

AN: Reviews, please.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

(Two Hours Later)

After the group had assembled at his house, Faith had cleaned up and he'd gotten Tanya a clean change of clothes (not to mention a shower and some food), Xander had them all seated in the front room, sitting between Tanya and Faith, both of whom were nursing a cup of real hot chocolate, not the powdered stuff, "Okay, everyone here?"

Buffy asked first, "Why isn't she dead?"

Tanya smiled a little, "I'm I-i-Immortal, Buffy."

Buffy glared, "How do you know my name?"

Xander smiled, "I told her, Buff."

Buffy scowled at him, "Who gave you permission to tell her I'm the Slayer?"

Tanya arched an eyebrow, "He didn't tell me that, Buffy, but you just did." Buffy blushed at the chiding tone in Tanya's voice even as both Faith and Joyce chuckled at it, "More so, I could see it in your aura."

Giles blinked at this, "You're a witch?"

Tanya nodded, "Indeed I am. Wicca, to be precise."

Willow perked up, "Really? Me too!"

Tanya frowned for a moment, her eyes narrowing, "No, you are not."

Xander looked at her, "She isn't?"

Tanya shook her head, "No true Wicca would ever touch the Dark Magics by casting a curse." Tanya appeared to look closer at Willow, who nervously twitched in her seat, and then sit back, shaking her head, "All of her power is borrowed from an older source, from a spirit, and it is waning. Unless she-"

"Willow, my name is Willow," Willow interrupted slightly.

Tanya nodded, "Unless Willow learns how to tap into the true essence of the Earth soon, she'll be unless as far as magical abilities go. T-the borrowed energies a-are burning out her p-potential."

Willow looked worried, Buffy did to, but Giles appeared speculative, "Can you teach her how to do this?"

Tanya looked over at him, he shrugged, "Go for it – if she does it, cool, if not, we'll find her something else to do other than cackling around a cauldron."

Tanya shot him a look, "I h-h-hate that myth. We don't cackle – we laugh, w-w-we giggle, even c-chuckle, but n-not cackle." He gave her a winning smile and she blushed a little as she went on, "Maybe, Mr. Giles, but that would depend on a few things." Tanya looked around and shivered, "The first is the aura that I am feeling in this town – the Hellmouth has a corrupting influence on all magics, and I am n-not sure if a Wicca would be a-able to l-learn here."

Xander nodded, "Makes sense, in the whole 'learning good magics on the Mouth of hell' kind of way."

Faith then stepped in, "So, why were you lookin' for Xand? You want his head or something?"

Tanya blushed, "No, I'm not. I need to disappear and he offered to help me once." She looked over at him and he knew that it was over when he saw the look for help in her eyes, "Please?"

He took a breath and nodded, "Okay, so you need a new ID, papers, the whole deal, I can help with that."

She nodded at him, "Thank you – there are not many men among our kind who would help a woman."

Faith curled herself around his body rather possessively and smiled at Tara, "Not many guys like Xand, here." Faith then looked at him and grinned, "Don't you know any ugly girls, X? Tanya here's a fox!"

Buffy, Willow and Tanya all blushed but he grinned, "Why Faith, I didn't know you swung that way."

She shrugged but the sparkle of humor never left her eyes, "Hey, I don't have any probs with it – makes it easier to find a date on the weekends if you fish from both sides of the pond." She sat down into his lap, wiggled into it, and then grinned, "So … did you bring back anything from your trip for little ol' me?"

"And us too, mister!" He looked over at Willow, who was grinning, "Last time you went on a trip you left us out."

He rolled his eyes, "I got you that pin from Roswell, Willow."

She sniffed, "Aliens aren't real, Xander, and you know it."

Xander just grinned at her as several sets of memories came to mind from the immortal Terakan assassin he'd taken – oh, yes, aliens WERE real, but Willow didn't need to know that, "Whatever you say, Wills." He looked up at Faith, "Can you get off?"

She grinned at him seductively and opened her mouth to speak, at which point Buffy put her hands over Willow's ears, "I don't know, Boytoy – can you get me off?"

Joyce, Giles and Tanya all blushed lightly, Buffy looked like she'd been boiled alive her skin was so red and Willow, who still had Buffy's hands on her ears, looked confused, "Hey, what'd she say?"

Xander looked up at Faith and knew that it would be a LONG six months until her birthday, so instead he went with, "I'm sure I could, Faith, but not in front of the others – that's not something you do in polite company." He gave her a push and sent her into Tanya's lap, standing and going to get one of his bags, "Now, who's been a good Scooby?"

Buffy and Willow both put their hands up, "Mememememememememememe!"

He arched an eyebrow at the both of them and then looked at Joyce, "Here you go, Joyce, something I picked up from an OLD collector."

Joyce caught the box he tossed at her and, when she looked inside, frowned, "You can give this back to Methos, Xander – I won't wear his bulla." She repackaged it and tossed it back, turning to Buffy, who was frowning, "Think of it as a mark of being a child, or unmarried, once used in Ancient Rome with family and children."

Buffy growled even as he pulled out a book and tossed it to Giles, thinking that he'd have to thump the old man for that joke, "From Joe Dawson."

Giles caught the book and opened it, a sly grin pulling at his lips, "Oh, my, I DO think I'll need to thank Joe for this, Xander. Thank you."

Xander shrugged and then looked at the two growling girls, both of whom were looking at the bag he was holding – he reached into his pocket, pulled out a quarter, flipped it and then looked at Willow, "Heads, Willow wins."

Willow caught the bag he threw her even as Buffy growled about 'favoritism' and, once she looked in it, squealed, rushing Xander and crushing him into a huge, "thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouTHANKYOU!" She reached up and gave him a hard kiss on the cheek before she ran towards the door, "Gottagobyenowseeyoulater!"

Xander blinked even as Faith asked, "What was that all about, Xand?"

"I gave her the newest release from Microsoft, their beta-drive OS." Faith blinked at him and he shrugged, "You just saw a Willow geek-gasm, Faith."

Faith snorted, "I'm sure she'd rather have a screaming-"

Buffy cut off Faith's obvious comment, "What'd you get me, Xand?" He tossed her another bag and she looked into it with glee, but then frowned and pulled out a book, "How to Improve Memory? Are you trying to tell me something, Xander?"

"That I'm tired of remembering your phone number for you, Buffy, and getting you to remember your cell, your keys, thing like that." Buffy glared at him and he just grinned at her a little, "Hey, the worst that can happen is that you actually remember when a report or something is due, or you show up for patrols on time – just think of how happy that'll make Giles."

"Oh, yes, you can tell I'm just bouncing with joy, Xander," Giles deadpanned, which got a giggle out of Joyce and Tanya, a snicker out of Faith and a wounded look out of Buffy.

Faith stopped snicker enough to get out, "Sarcasm from the G-man, you KNOW it's a bad day when that happens." She then looked up at Xander and grinned, "So, what'd you get me, Xand?"

He winked at her, "I'll show you later – I think Joyce would gut me if she saw I gave you something better than she got."

Faith arched an eyebrow, "You're scared of Mrs. S?"

"He has good reason to be, Faith," Giles chipped in, a slightly smug look on his face. That smugness was lost as Joyce turned to him and leveled her 'Mother' look at him, "I-I mean that he's … that is to say…"

Buffy saved him, "Mom has both him and Giles whipped with food and The Look, Faith." Buffy looked around and then down at her book, "Well, if that's it, I'm out of here. Later Xand, Faith, Tanya. Mom, Giles?"

Both parents were up and said their goodbyes to the group, all three leaving the house and leaving the three of them alone – Xander took Tanya up to the other bedroom in the house, "It's yours, as long as you need it, Tanya."

The Immortal woman smiled and embraced him in a manner that could only be described as warm and trusting, "Thank you, Alexander."

He somewhat awkwardly patted her on the back and they released, "We'll start on your new ID tomorrow, and we'll go and get you some clothes, okay?"

She nodded and went into the room, stripping off her borrowed shirt and what was left of her dress as she did, "I will see you in the morning, Alexander." She shut the door and left Xander in a startled state for a moment – Tanya was most definitely put together in all of the right places.

He shook his head, "Don't look, you idiot – you're with Faith." He'd known Tanya for less than four hours and, already, he felt this … BOND with her, something he couldn't explain right off of the top of his head – it wasn't the bond he felt with any other of 'his girls', it was on an entirely different level. With Buffy, the bond was of friendship, like several pieces of woven twine, with Willow, braided nylon rope, also woven, Jenny and Joyce were somewhere in between, and with Faith it was like the ropes used in the old Galleons of Spain, tough, thick, almost unbreakable under normal means. But with Tanya it felt… unlike anything else, so he knew to be careful.

"You bet your ass you're with me." He turned and saw Faith standing there, her arms crossed but with an odd smile on her face as she uncrossed her arms, "Thing is, is that I'm not as possessive as B or Red – if you want to invite her in, I'll share ya."

He shook his head and walked over to her, kissing her fiercely for a moment before he released her, "No, I think I'll have you and you alone."

She smiled up at him and licked the end of his nose, "Okay, but don't blame me if she tries to take your head over lack of sleep after we go through a marathon fuck session."

He grinned and reached down, grabbed her waist and picked her up high enough so that her thighs went around his own waist, "Now, Faith, for your present."

She smiled as he walked them to her bedroom, "I ain't legal, Xand, remember?"

He nodded and then, suddenly, threw her back onto the bed, her hair fanning out slightly as she bounced, "I know." He went over to his bags and pulled out one other bag, noticeably smaller, "Now, for your present…"

(Next Day)

Xander and Tanya were in the backyard of his home, both dressed in sweats and running through a mostly meditative routine together that had somehow spawned out of asking if she wanted sugar in her coffee – Xander, for the life of him, couldn't figure out how they had gotten from asking if she liked sugar in her coffee to running through a Tai Chi exercise, but he had to admit that he hadn't felt this good in a while.

When they came to a stop, though, Tanya turned to him and bowed, "Two spoons of sugar, please."

He arched an eyebrow and ran the back of his hand across his forehead, "Are we going to have to do that every time I ask you something?"

She gave him a slightly amused look, "No, but I needed to work out and I hate doing it alone." They walked back into the kitchen and she sat down at the bar, "If I may ask, how long have you been an Immortal?"

He poured them two cups of coffee and put two spoons of sugar in hers, taking his straight, "A little over a year now. I'd ask you your age, but it'd be considered impolite."

She gave him a slight grin as she took her cup, "I'm secure in my age, Alexander-"

"Xander."

She nodded, "Xander. I'm two hundred and fifty three years old, next Ides of March." She looked down at her cup as she stirred it, "Do you know who killed you?"

Xander nodded, "Yeah, I do – vampire, Angelus, wanted to break Buffy's spirit so he captured me and tortured me until he drained me to death."

She winced, "What happened to him?"

"Sent to hell, given his soul back and now is working in LA towards regaining his humanity." Xander felt that old nugget of anger begin to grow a little as he sipped his coffee, "Can't say that I hope he ever gets it back, but if he does, I'll be there to send him right back to hell."

"I was burned as a witch in F-France, two hundred and thirty years a-ago." He looked up and saw a look of black amusement on Tanya's face, "One of the few they actually got right, from what I hear, but none the less I was burned w-while my Coven were all dunked or h-hung.." She pulled her borrowed sweatshirt up to show him an ugly scar that exploded out from between her breasts, "They hung a satchel of black powder around my neck and when the fires hit it, it went off, killing me as I burned."

He winced, "Fuck." She blushed a little and he winced again, "Sorry."

She shook her head as she pulled her top back down, "Don't be – it's just I'm not u-used to t-talking with a man like this a-anymore."

Xander didn't want to push the issue, so he didn't, though it didn't matter as Tanya went on, "Jebidiah and I met while he was stationed in Norfolk, on the Enterprise, and I was then running a small herb store that supplied many of the local w-Wicca . He made me all kinds of promises and I-I fell for him – when we moved to Darneyville, we weren't in love, like I thought, but he u-used me."

Xander reached out instinctively and laid two fingers on her now-clenched fist, which unclenched as she sighed, "He u-used me to cover debts, t-to amuse his f-friends, and he s-spread h-h-horrible rumors about me." Tanya looked up and he was surprised to see tears in her eyes, "He knew I was Immortal, and that o-our ceremony was b-binding to me."

Xander snarled an oath that came to mind, one that was so vial that the Ancient Babylonians had considered it an open declaration of war – for not the first time, he was thankful that he'd listen to Methos' mutterings and swearings as Tanya smiled a little, going on with her story, "M-many of my friends in Darneyville f-feel the same way."

Once he calmed down, she continued, "I-I was never able to bear children, l-like all I-Immortals, so he slept around – finally, I c-couldn't take any more and…" She looked down at her cup of coffee, a single tear falling down her cheek, "May the Goddess forgive me for breaking my vow."

"Oh, I'm sure she will, Tanya, as soon as she's done kicking Jebidiah's ass for a few centuries." They looked up to see Faith standing in the doorway to the kitchen, dressed in a pair of his black silk boxers and her tank top, her hair a mess and a scowl on her face, "And if I knew a way to bring him back, I'd kick his ass, too."

Tanya smiled slightly, "T-thank you, Faith."

After she walked over and gave him and kiss, he asked, "What's up, Faith? You're not out of bed for another two hours, generally."

She scowled, "I know, but nature called." She fixed herself her own cup of coffee, cream and a lot of sugar, and sipped at it, "So, what's going to happen now?"

Xander shrugged, "We start Tanya's new ID work, we take her shopping-"

Faith arched an eyebrow, "What's this 'we' business, Xand? I mean, yeah, she's hot, but I'm not shopping for another chick."

Tanya blushed even as he arched an eyebrow, "Okay, I will take her shopping and you can start reading those books I laid out for you."

Faith snorted, "What do I need those books for, anyway? It's not like I'm gonna see old age, and don't get all uppity on me, Xand." She looked up at him and the look in her eyes told him to be quiet, "Point is, is that I'm a Slayer – we don't live that long and even if we did, it's not like I'm going to be able to grow old with you."

He reached over and pulled Faith into his lap, hugging her close and, almost forgetting that Tanya was there, kissed her deeply for several seconds before he pulled back, "Faith, we knew this going into our relationship – one night one or both of us would go out and not come back."

Faith nodded and rested her forehead on his cheek, "I know, love."

Xander knew just how special that word was – Faith didn't 'love' people, she just hung around them, tolerated them, even screwed them, but he knew that, at that moment, Faith meant that she actually loved him and that she was at peace with herself over everything that had and would happen.

"It's amazing that you two can coincide with one another, given what your destinies are." They looked at Tanya, who blushed a little, "I mean, you're so different, yet you're the same."

Faith looked at him oddly for a moment and then asked, "Is it screwed up that she actually made sense?"

He shook his head, "Not really – what's screwy is that it took us as long as it did to figure it out, really."

Faith shrugged, "We always were kinda slow on the uptake."

Tanya looked at them both oddly for a moment, "Are you m-making fun of me?"

Faith grinned, "Yeah, just so we can hear that sexy stutter of yours, Tiger."

Tanya blushed at this statement, stuttering again for a bit before she managed to get out, "Sexy?"

Xander nodded, doing his best to ignore that Faith was wiggling around in his lap in a very alluring way, "Yup, it is, and Tiger, Faith?"

Faith shrugged and got off of his lap, "Yup, I can see a tiger in her, one just lookin' to get out and eat up any man or woman she finds, and then have her wicked way with 'em."

They looked at Tanya for a moment, her face flaming, before they broke into chuckles, Faith snickering out, "C'mon, Tahn, its okay, laugh with us."

Xander nodded, "Come to the Dark Side, Tanya, you'll find you like it here."

Tanya stopped blushing and shook her head, "James Earl Jones you are not, Xander."

Xander sniffed indignantly even as Faith cracked up, "I think of myself more as a Palpatine than a Vader." This cracked Faith up even more as he took one last drink of his coffee, "So, ready, Tanya?"

Tanya nodded, "And I have my name now … it's Maclay, Tara Maclay."

Xander snapped to and saluted, "Very good, double-oh Wicca." Faith really lost it at this and the newly-minted Tara giggled – yes, his work was done.

(Later)

"I'm almost afraid to ask where you're hiding your sword, Tara," Xander said to her as she walked out of the dressing room.

She arched an eyebrow at him as she spun in her 'flower child' dress, a kind of dress she had LOVED back during the Sixties, and then looked at him again, "You'll never find out while the lights are still on, Xander."

He leered at her in a playful manner, "Is that an invitation?"

She blushed a little and shook her head, "N-no, not really."

He winced, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound like-"

She held up her hand, cutting off his rushed and very sincere apology – it felt nice, really, to know that with Xander, what you saw was generally what you got and that he really was sorry that he'd been making a slight joke, "I-it's nothing, Xander." She then looked down, "So, what do you t-think?"

He grinned, "I think you're gorgeous."

She blushed lightly as she went back into the dressing room and called over the door, "You're just saying that because I showed you my scar."

She heard him shrug slightly, "Once upon a time I wouldn't have seen the scar, rather I would have been appreciating that the Goddess was kind to you."

She blushed even more as she changed back into her other clothes, feeling her heart beat just a touch faster than normal – oh, yes, Xander was quite the charmer, "You speak of the Goddess – do you believe?"

Xander snorted and she could tell it was a sore subject, "I tolerate the talk of any divine being generally because Willow will babble me into submission if I don't." When he spoke again, she could hear the emotion in his voice, one of anger, yet another emotion was there, one of … sadness, "As for believing … no, I don't think so. I've seen and done too much to believe in anything, really, Tara."

Tara slipped the shirt she had borrowed from Xander back on, tucking it in, "I see. Tell me, how far has Willow come in her magical training?"

Xander again sounded as if he was shrugging, "Rituals, mostly, but she thinks herself a Wicca even though Giles, Jenny and myself have all told her that, at best, she's a sorceress."

Tara stepped out of the dressing room, the dress in her hands, "Jenny?"

Xander nodded, "Romany Techno Pagan, mostly a ritualist but I think she may have had power once."

Tara blinked, "Romany? Truly? It's been many years since I have come in contact with the Romany, so I guess I'll have to meet her." They went to the cashier and Xander paid for her purchases before she could stop him – it was sweet, really, but after nearly twenty years of not touching her accounts, she had quite the little nest egg built up. Once they were out into the mall proper, she asked him, "What do you think of Willow's ability?"

She didn't have to wait long for his answer, "It scares me."

Tara stopped and looked at Xander, "Why?"

Xander rolled his eyes, "First, her opening spell wasn't a spell, it was a curse meant to bind a soul to the animated corpse of a vampire; I'm not exactly up on all of the mojo working around here, but even I know that's SERIOUS black magic working there and the fact Willow's used it scares me."

Tara shivered, "As it should. I take it this is where the empowering spirit came from?"

Xander nodded and went on to tell her the entire situation at the time, about Angelus and how he had originally had his soul restored and why it had been necessary, but when he got to the end, she was puzzled, "From what I understand, though, the soul never hit Angelus, but instead it went to his Childe, Drusilla, so Angelus was sent through the portal soulless, yet when he came out, he had his soul."

Tara blinked as they approached the food court, "Who in their right mind would damn a soul to fight against a demon for all eternity?"

Xander shrugged at her and didn't sound at all surprised at her question, "The Romany, Clan Kalderash to be precise, but while I'm not exactly supportive of their methods, I don't blame them for wanting revenge."

They walked up to a small stand that was offering cold lemonade and corn dogs, which Xander partook of, and then went to another venue that offered Tara the chance to try out a meatless hamburger and baked potato wafers, and they then took a seat in the seating area. Tara noticed that he looked at several places and nodded, "What?"

"They covered the damage well." She arched an eyebrow at him and he chuckled, "Sorry, forgot that you weren't here when it happened. Angelus managed to get all of the parts of The Judge together and they went on a rampage here at the mall."

Tara felt herself blanch and dropped her meal, "The … J-j-j-judge?"

Xander nodded, "Yup – ugly, blue-skinned, wore lots of leather, looked like a Dom, only not as friendly."

She mumbled, "No weapon forged by man …"

Xander snickered, "Yeah, we read that, but my contribution to the group solved the problem." He took a bite out of his corndog and washed it down with his drink, "We used an AT-4 rocket launcher on him, blew him into kibble."

Tara blinked for a moment and then picked up her meatless hamburger again, "Somehow I don't think I'll like the answer to the obvious question."

He gave her a grin that was just as home on his face as it was on the face of a five year-old who had just pulled off a HUGE prank, "Aw, come on, you know you want to ask."

Tara swallowed her bite of sandwich and shook her head, "No, I want to ask who is Drusilla?"

"Dru? Half-sane vamp, childe of Angelus, now a Kindred of Clan Capadocian, supposedly somewhere over in San Francisco if her last letter was any indication.

Tara sighed, "Why do I get the feeling that every time I get an answer out of this group I'm going to end up learning just how crazy this world really is?"

He reached over and patted her on the top of the head, "Because you've been around the block a few times and know that the world is rarely as simple as it may seem to be?"

She growled at him, "That was a rhetorical question, Xander."

Xander took a bite of his corndog, "No such thing on the Hellmouth." She threw a wafer at him and he caught it in his mouth, grinning the entire time, a grin that made her grin in return – this could be fun.

(Later)

"So, this is the elusive Tanya I've heard so much about," Jenny purred a little even as Tara and he walked into the house. Jenny was situated on the couch, several books in front of her and dressed in a pair of snug jeans and a loose blouse for a top, "I have to say that I was expecting someone more… wizened."

Tara looked at him and then at Jenny, "Firstly, my name is now Tara, Tara Maclay, and Xander, should I take offense to that?"

Xander shook his head as he played to Tara's lead, "Nah, don't – Jenny likes to play games with people's heads."

Jenny smiled at him in a way that, while teasing, in high school, would have made him die of blood loss to the brain, "Why, Xander, I never play games with people's heads, just their bodies."

Tara smiled and walked over, sitting next to Jenny and pulling Jenny into a side-armed hug, "Mmmm, manipulative, just how I like my women."

Xander withheld a bark of laughter as Jenny blushed at how the tables were being turned against her, instead he went with, "Hey, Tara, if I'm good can I watch?"

Tara gave him a secretive look and managed to stutter out, "I-i-i-if you're r-r-r-really good, Xander."

He sat on Jenny's on the other side of Jenny and pulled her away from Tara, knowing that Faith was watching in the door of the kitchen around the corner by way of the mirror, "And if I wanted to join in?"

Tara pulled Jenny away from him, doing her best to not break out into a smile even as Jenny turned as red as Willow's hair, "No, s-she's m-mine."

Xander, seeing Faith's reflection and that the Slayer had her fist stuffed in her mouth to keep quiet, pulled Jenny again but this time not away from Tara, "Maybe we can share? You, me and Faith can work out a schedule of some kind, perhaps?"

Tara gave him a speculative look and, apparently, that was all Faith could handle as she fell to the ground, howling in laughter, which made Tara and himself break into laughter.

Jenny, apparently determined to not be taken the best of, caught onto the joke and made an attempt to get back at him by draping her arms around his neck and pulled him close enough to whisper into his ear, "I'm game is you are, Alexander."

Xander, though, wouldn't let himself fall for the rebuttal as Faith got up and walked over, firmly planting herself into his lap (wiggling just to make sure she was in GOOD and tight), "I think that having you and Faith would kill me, permanently, Jenny, so I'm going to have to decline."

Jenny gave him a mock pout but looked surprised as Tara pulled her into a hug from behind, the blonde's hands roaming up and down Jenny's stomach, "Good, which means more for me."

"I concede defeat, Xander," Jenny said in an oddly neutral voice as Tara let her go. "Obviously you've gotten better at flirting than you used to be."

Xander pulled Faith closer to him and felt her start to purr, "Oh, not better, I've just had more practice as of late. So, what brings you here, Jenny?"

"I brought all of the things that I may need to teach Willow how to be a Wicca, a true Wicca, but I fear that my own lack of skills may cause a problem with that." Jenny looked at the books and then sighed, "I don't want her to go down the same road I did and have to have the majority of her power bound."

Silence filled the room for a moment and then Tara spoke, "You lost your way?"

Jenny nodded, "I started practicing Wicca at ten, like my mother before me, but while I had the Intelligence to learn the spells, I fear that, like Willow, I didn't have the Wisdom to learn the correct way to use them, so my Clan bound my powers."

Xander shook his head, not being able to imagine what that had to feel like, and quite honestly he never wanted to find out, but from the look on Tara's face, he suspected that it was possibly a fate worse than death, "Okay, let's just say that, if worse comes to worse, Willow can't be a Wicca – are there any other options open? We need a magic-user around here, someone other than Tara… if she decides to stay, that is."

Tara nodded slowly, "I think I will stay, as one is o-obligated to, to a student." She looked at the books and picked one at random, "W-we need to test her, to see what she can do, and t-then we can make decisions."

Faith stopped her purring long enough to speak up, "So, what now? Sure, Red's taken care of, but don't you and Xand need to finish your ID, Tiger?"

Tara shot Faith a glare at the nickname even as Jenny snickered, "Yes, we do, Faith, b-but it will take t-time."

Faith nodded, "Cool. So, is that it?"

They all looked at one another and nodded – that, indeed, was it.

(A Week Later)

"Do you feel it, Willow?"

Willow frowned a little as she meditated, just as both Jenny and Tara had instructed her to, in order to find her magical core, but so far she had come up empty, "This would be easier if you told me what I was looking for, Tara."

Tara opened her eyes and Willow could not only see the patience there, but also the wisdom, "There is no easy answer to that, Willow, because everyone I have ever taught to connect to the Earth has had a different experience."

Willow sighed, "This would be easier if you let me do it my way."

"It's better to break bad habits when they're new, rather than when they're old." She looked over at Jenny with a wounded expression, but the Romany woman didn't budge, "The way you went about petitioning and summoning the power was all wrong, Willow, and it was doing more harm than good."

Willow growled a little, "I wasn't hurting myself."

Jenny smiled in a slightly nostalgic manner, "That's exactly what I said, Willow, and look where I am now?"

Willow sniffed as she felt her pride clamor for attention, "I'm smart, Jenny, I won't fall into that trap!"

"Intelligence has nothing to do with magic, Willow," Tara said, her voice now disapproving and slightly stern.

"I beg to differ," Willow said, her pride now swelling. Damn it, she was smart enough to do this!

"And I've been doing this for over two hundred years, CHILD, so be quiet and listen to someone who has made the mistake you have made and has seen others make it." Willow, from her seated place, reeled back at the sudden jolt of power she felt form Tara, whose eyes flashed a dark color before they went back to normal, "It's a line that, if you c-cross it, it's n-n-not easy to get back a-across."

This stopped Willow in her mental tracks – she'd never really met anyone who'd talk to her about what they'd done wrong, but Tara had told her that she'd gone wrong and had come back from it. Was there something else that wasn't being said? "What happened?"

Tara shook her head, "That's a story for another time, but for now, find your magical center and we'll go from t-t-there."

(Two Hours later)

Tara looked at Willow, who had the most amazed look on her face, and had to repress a grin from forming on her own – it had taken two hours, four breaks and some rather inventive usage of the Hebrew language to get Willow to focus herself to find her magical core, "What is it like?"

"It's … it's like I'm in the shower, under the water but its not hot, not cold, it's just right." The sparkle in Willow's green eyes intensified a lot as Tara felt a rush of Earth Energy pulse through the area, something that happened a great deal on the Hellmouth as a way to combat the damaging effects of said portal, "Cool."

From the side, Tara heard Jenny snicker, "How very Oz of you, Willow."

Willow apparently didn't even hear that, "It's like … a puppy licking you, or kittens curling up and purring, only no dander or smelly stuff."

Tara blinked at this revelation – that was definitely one of the stranger descriptions she'd ever heard, "Now, Willow, pull away from that core, as f-f-far as you can, and find it again." She felt the source of power fade from Willow for a moment, dwindling to almost nothing, and then come back to full force, this time quicker, "Good – now do that one thousand times, or until it becomes second nature."

Willow's eyes shot open as she squeaked, a trickle of sweat running down her forehead, "A thousand times? Ican'tdothatathousandtimesI'llpassout!"

"Then you'd better get started," Jenny chipped in smoothly as she stood up and stretched out, a movement that caught Tara's eye for a moment before she returned her attention to her student. "Well, this has been fun, but I have an Englishman to go tease."

Tara grinned, "I thought that you had said that you were not pursuing Giles anymore?"

Jenny smiled, "Oh, I'm not, but as Xander will attest to, there is nothing wrong with teasing or flirting."

Willow looked up at Jenny then, her face set into a frown, "Don't break him and Faith up."

Jenny gave her an odd look before shaking her head, "I'd never dream of it, Willow. Alexander and I tease only, as do Faith and I." Jenny looked up at her and, for a moment, Tara could see something else in Jenny's eye, "I'm not sure if anything could break those two apart, given how perfect they seem to be for one another." With that, the Romany woman left and Willow went back to her practices.

Tara, however, frowned slightly – what had that been in Jenny's eye?

(Xander's House)

Buffy looked up at Xander from her position on the ground and glared at him as he slowly twirled the boken around in his hand, "No fair."

He gave her a bland smile, "Did you not just fall for a blatant trap?"

She glared even harder, "Okay, so what?"

He gave her a look and he nodded, "Okay, let's do that again." She got to her feet and readied her boken as he did the same, "Go."

Buffy rushed forwards, doing the same thing that she did last time in charging his blatantly loose and open stance, and like before he deflected her wooden blade, dropped under her and flipped her over onto her back, but this time he spun around and slammed the tip of his boken into the ground next to her head, close enough that she could hear the slight cracking of the wood as it entered the ground, "What was I supposed to see?"

He arched his eyebrow and pulled his sword away, "That you're dead now."

She shot him a glare, "But I deliberately fell for that trick again."

He nodded, "And I thank you for it, but this is how it could have gone down the first time."

From her spot on the ground, she pouted, "You still cheated."

He arched an eyebrow at her, "'Matters of honor only burden themselves unto the victor'."

"Huh?"

Xander sighed, "It's only cheating if you lose, Buff."

She got off of the ground by herself, having already tricked Xander into helping her up once and then using surprise to throw him to the ground himself, "So, tell me again why we're doing this? I mean, Slay Chick here."

Xander rolled his eyes at her and she felt mildly irritated as he said, "Because you may have the information in your head, but if you don't access it, it's as useless as a brain in the Sunnydale PD. Besides," he went on with a slight cough, "Giles isn't getting any younger and you beating him up all the time is taking its toll."

Buffy sniffed slightly, "I told him to wear the padded suit!"

Xander gave her a LOOK, "Do you REALLY think that helps against a Slayer, Buff?"

She nodded, "Point made, but why you and not Faith?"

Xander shrugged, "Not sure, even made that point myself – he said something about 'Alpha Females' and 'Terror beyond imagination', so I left it alone."

Buffy sniffed, "I could take her."

Xander shook his head, "Hence the 'Alpha female' thing, Buffy – it's not a question of who is dominant between you and Faith, it's how you work off of the other's strengths."

She stopped at this and looked at Xander for a moment before asking, "Where are you getting all of this stuff, Xander? Did Willow get you a calendar full of quotes like she got me last year?"

Xander shook his head, "No, she made that mistake a few years ago and paid the price when Jesse and I spent two months solid quoting the quotes." He put away his boken and then looked at her, "It comes from not wanting you and my girlfriend fighting, Buff, because I don't want to choose."

Buffy blinked, "Faith's your girlfriend?"

He nodded at her slowly, "Yeah, don't sound so surprised."

She blushed at the slightly scathing tone he gave her and did her best to backpedal, "But Faith doesn't date, she only-" She winced as his eyes narrowed a little and tried another approach, "I thought you and Amanda were, you know, together."

Xander shook his head, "Not in the traditional sense, Buff – Amanda and I are friends, with benefits, but Faith and I are the real deal."

"How do you know? How do you know that she isn't using you?"

Xander froze in his spot and Buffy knew instantly that she'd crossed a very blatant line – he turned and his eyes were dead, "The same way you knew that a vampire was your supposed 'soul mate', which is rather odd given that when you fucked him the first time he LOST his soul." He advanced on her and Buffy found herself stepping back as he did, "Listen, Buff, I know I gave you flak over your supposed love for that thing, but given what he was, that shouldn't have been unexpected – don't start throwing stones at my relationship with Faith."

She stopped and bowed up, "What's so different between you and Angel, Xander? What makes you better than him?"

"The ability to tan, the fact I have a pulse and that I'm not hiding SHIT from Faith, not like that vampire did." Xander closed the gap in two quick steps and Buffy felt her heart stop as he hissed, "I'm trying to be civil about this, Buffy, so don't start poking your nose in where it isn't wanted or needed."

"Well excuse me for trying to be a good friend and keeping you from getting hurt," she huffed.

Xander pulled away, his eyes no longer dead, but now they were mocking, "Funny thing, when I did that, I was accused of being jealous – imagine that." With that, Xander turned on his heel and walked into his house, shutting the door and then locking it.

Buffy looked at the door for a long time, how long she wasn't sure, but it was long enough for Faith to walk up on her and scare the shit out of her with a shouted, "YO B!"

Once Buffy was able to get her heart back down from her throat and stopped gasping, she asked Faith, "What was that for? Are you trying to scare me to death?"

Faith shrugged at her, "Nah, I don't scare people to death, I generally knife 'em that way. You ready to go on patrol? X got me this new toy and I've been itching to try it out."

Buffy arched an eyebrow as she looked down at the glove that Faith was wearing, "What is it?"

Faith grinned, "Proof that X is a geek at heart, B." Faith squeezed her hand and from the inside of her jacket sleeve shot a long knife that sailed right into her hand, and from the other jacket sleeve a stake shot out, "Xand said it was his little Slayer who wanted everything that he could give and I thanked him for it."

Buffy snorted as her mouth ran off without her brain, "So you screwed him?"

Faith, apparently, was expecting that as she shook her head and reset the two weapons into her sleeves, "Nah, we're holding off on that for another few months, so I just told him I'd put it on his tab." After a second, her sister Slayer looked at her, "So, you ready, or are you going to sulk about the ass-chewing Xand gave you?"

Buffy winced, "You heard?"

Faith nodded and shrugged, "Got the story from G, Red and Xand, pieced a few other things together and figure that if he's tearing into you, that ya opened your mouth and stuck your foot in it."

Buffy followed Faith for a second before asking, "Does the fact I just insulted you not faze you in the least?"

Faith shrugged, "Been put down a lot in my day, so you bitching about how life isn't fair and running your mouth off isn't anything new." Faith looked back at her and grinned a grin that Buffy wasn't sure she liked, "Besides, you know the old saying – Karma's a bitch and she has a long memory. Ya might want to remember that, B." With that, Faith took off to get to their first cemetery for the night, leaving Buffy to wonder and worry for a bit.

(Later – Harris Home)

"Aw, don't worry, Xander – it won't bite," Jenny teased the younger Immortal as he shied away from the computer a little bit. For the past two hours they had been finalizing some of Tara's new documents, along with a few other odds and ends, and every step of the way the computer had been fighting Xander. She, on the other hand, had been doing anything rather easily.

Xander just growled at the computer even as Tara looked at it warily – apparently the older Immortal did not like computers at all, often making motions to ward off evil, and Jenny repressed a sigh as the Immortal stuttered, "I-i-i-its okay, X-x-x-x-xander."

"Honestly, it's a wonder why any Immortal ever does this on their own," she sighed as she finished another document and sent it out amongst the Internet.

Xander snorted, "Don't blame us, Jenny, because it was you mortals who came up with the damned things to begin with." She glared at him and he gave her a cheeky grin in return, "Now, pen and paper, THAT is the way to do things."

Jenny scoffed at him in mock horror even as Tara nodded quickly, "I-it's the best w-way to d-do things, r-really."

Jenny then just shook her head and sighed, "Well, that's it for now – Tara Maclay is a solid citizen as far as the computers are concerned."

"Groovy," Xander drawled as he sat down into a seat, soon joined by Tara so that they formed an equilateral triangle. "So, how'd Willow's lesson go today?"

"O-once her pride w-was taken o-out of the way, she did well enough," Tara conceded to Xander even as she reached down and picked up a book.

Jenny nodded, "It's a shame she will never be Wicca, she could have done well in it."

Xander arched an eyebrow, "Uh, huh? I thought she was Wicca already?"

Tara shook her head, starting to leaf through a book, "I-it's more than a religion, Xander, it's a way of l-life that Willow can't go through."

Jenny then cut in, "What I am afraid of, and rightfully so, is that Willow's pride will not let her see that we're trying to help her and she'll go back to harming herself with magics, albeit unintentionally."

Xander groaned and leaned back in his chair, "Willow's possibly the second most hard-headed non-Slayer on this planet, so you may want to watch her very carefully. When she had it in her head that she's right, nothing short of ripping her apart will show her she's wrong – trust me, Jesse and I were the last two to do that and she didn't talk to us for a week."

Tara looked over at him as he cast his mind back to that day, remembering just how STUPID the argument had been between the three of them over who was more dangerous, Wonder Woman or Batman, "I don't want to discourage her, Xander, but she needs to understand that her way is a p-path to darkness."

Jenny then spoke up, "You said second most hard-headed, Xander – who is the most hard-headed?"

He gave her a slight grin, "Why, me, Jenny, didn't you know that?" Jenny stuck her tongue out at him and he snickered, "Don't show that unless you intend to use it, Jana."

Heat exploded into Jenny's cheeks even as Tara choked on something, but after a moment Jenny's blush faded and she looked at him in a way that would make even the most jaded male porn stars sit up and beg for more, "I'm game if you are, Xander."

Now it was Xander's turn to blush, and to one-up Jenny he gaped a little even as Tara choked some more – this had not been part of his plan, "I … we … that is to say …"

Jenny smiled sweetly at him and pinched his cheek, "So much like Rupert used to be, it's quite sad, really."

Even as Xander shouted an indignant, "Hey," Tara finally stopped choking enough to get out, "H-he's not th-that bad."

Jenny nodded, "Point. So, Tara, might I ask you a question?" Tara nodded and Jenny asked, "Why is it that you only occasionally stutter?"

Tara blushed at this and looked down, "Its part of the act, Jenny, part of Tara Maclay, and as she's so new, sometimes I forget."

Xander finally recovered enough to shake his head, "No need to, Tara – you're cute enough without adding another adorable factor to it." She shot him a death glare and he looked at Jenny, "That wasn't nice, comparing me to Giles."

Jenny shrugged slightly, "True, but it got the response I was looking for." It was his turn to shoot her a death glare but she ignored it in favor of looking at Tara, "So what do we do with Willow now, Tara?"

Tara frowned for a moment and then tapped her finger on the end of her nose, "I'm not entirely sure, Jenny. She has the intelligence to find a way to cast many spells, but I fear for her lack of wisdom on when to use them – it's not uncommon for someone to go too far, too quickly, and to burn themselves out."

Xander chipped in his own two cents from what he deemed the 'magical peanut gallery', "Is there any kind of limiter or restrictor you can put on her?"

Tara shook her head, "No, nothing that wouldn't be physical."

"What would they be, just out of curiosity?"

Tara looked at Jenny and they both shrugged, "It would need to be something that would be difficult to remove, so we used to use piercing."

Xander blinked, "Uh, ear rings are easy to remove, Tara."

She gave him a slight grin and winked, "Who said they were in their ears, Xander?" Xander felt blood rush from his brain as the meaning registered, but even as Jenny giggled, Tara went on, "We also used magical metals that burned anyone who touched them excessively."

Xander coughed a little, suitably embarrassed, "Ah, I see."

Tara rolled her eyes, "No, we didn't pierce them THERE, Xander – just their eyebrows and such."

The trio lulled into silence for a bit, the tension and emotion that had built in the room fading a bit, and all was serene for a while – Xander had laid his head back and appeared to be napping, Jenny had taken to looking over something she had printed out, but Tara was calmly studying Jenny; there was something about the woman that puzzled her, something that, more to the point, caught her attention and that was very rare.

"Yes, Tara?" Jenny looked up at her and smiled a little, "What is it that you're studying so closely? Do my earrings not match?"

Tara blushed lightly as she ignored the snickering from Xander's direction, "No, I was just wondering why you flirt with Xander like you do, when it's obvious you have no romantic interests in him."

Now it was Jenny's turn to blush lightly even as Xander's snickering stopped, "Well, first of all it is fun to verbally spar with him, even though he folds quickly when flirted with." Jenny put down her papers and leaned back, "But, honestly, I'd have to say it's because Xander's the closest thing to a male friend I have who isn't wanting to get into my pants." Jenny turned to Xander and smiled, "And I thank him for that, I truly do."

Xander mock-bowed to Jenny, then the woman went on, "Honestly, I can't think of another man, recently, who was like that and it's rather new for me, hence why I flirt with Xander." Jenny then snorted slightly, "Though it's not like I ever had a chance with him, given Faith and what I have heard about Amanda."

Tara blinked, "You … you wanted to …"

Xander, it sounded, was in the same level of shock, "Jenny?"

Jenny, on the other hand, just shrugged, "It was a passing fancy, really, given my age and the relative chance of me ever finding someone. Nothing too spectacular."

Tara looked at Xander, who looked to be alternating between pale and flushed, "Xander, did you know about this?"

Xander shook his head, "No, I didn't." He got up and walked over to Jenny, kneeling in front of her, "Jenny-"

Jenny shook her head, cutting him off, "Forget it, Xander – you're with Faith now, and I'm not going to break you two up." She pushed away from him and went back to her files, "Now, what else do you need, Tara? Do you want anything else?"

Tara paused, knowing that the issue had only been tabled for a moment and then shrugged, "I always wanted to be an astronaut – can you make that happen?"

Jenny sighed, "Certainly couldn't be any worse than Buffy's so-called 'driving'…"

Anything else that Jenny was going to say was cut off by the front door slamming open and a pair of feet storming in – Xander and Tara were both immediately on their feet, swords drawn, ready to repel an attacker when they saw that it was Faith, and her face was as black as a thundercloud, "Blondie better never show her face around here again or I'll fucking cave her skull in!"

Tara looked over at Xander, who looked overly-worried himself as he asked, "Faith, CALM DOWN!" He carefully walked over and held her in place long enough to establish eye contact, "What happened."

In response, Faith held her right arm up and Tara could see several things looked to have been snapped off, "She broke it, Xand."

Xander's head dropped and he sighed in a defeated tone, "Slayers and their fucking toys. I KNEW I should have bought her one, too, but noooooo, I had to only think of Faith." Tara winced in sympathy for a moment but when he raised his head again, she almost felt sorry for Buffy, "I'll get you a new one, Faith."

Faith looked at him, her lower lip now trembling, "Promise?"

Xander kissed her on the end of her nose, and then licked it, "Promise." Faith smiled at him and he pulled away, turning towards the front hallway, "You can stop skulking, Buffy – you suck at it."

Buffy shuffled in at this point, looking both embarrassed and ready to cry, but Tara could also see that there was a large petulant streak in her even as Buffy spat out, "She started it!"

Faith was quickly on the defensive, "I told you no and that Xand gave it to me!"

"You just didn't want to share!"

"Why would I want to share with someone who has problems with it herself?

The pair bickered back and forth for a bit, both of them picking at one another, and Tara felt a headache forming even as she noticed Jenny had walked over and was patting Xander on the back of his head, muttering, "There, there," while restraining a grin. This act made Tara also restrain a grin of her own until, a moment later, Xander erupted.

"ENOUGH! SIT DOWN, THE BOTH OF YOU AND BLOODY WELL BE QUIET!" The Chosen Two sat down, right there on the floor, Jenny sat down and Tara found that she too had sat down at the shouted command – this wasn't good, especially with the way that vein in his head was throbbing.

Xander calmed himself for a second and then glared at Buffy, "You are going to apologize to Faith for breaking her gift – that is non-negotiable, and once that's over you're going to learn how to understand that No means No." He turned to Faith, who was smirking slightly but then quickly stopped, "You should have already learned that Buffy's spoiled rotten, so her taking your weapon, or trying to, shouldn't have come as a shock – I'll replace this one, but that's it."

Faith nodded even as Buffy whined, "Hey," and then hung her head, muttering to Buffy, "Now look what you've done." Buffy glared at Faith but a glare from Xander quieted it, and it was too much for Tara as she broke out into a bout of giggles.

The giggles, it seemed, were infectious as Jenny soon broke out into giggles of her own as Tara fell backwards, her giggles evolving into full-blown laughter. Soon, she and Jenny were laughing so hard it hurt and even Faith was snickering even as Buffy's lips were quirked, but Xander stood there, stone-faced. It wasn't until, a few minutes later, and gasping for air, that Tara got back up into a sitting position and looked at Xander, "Keep that up and your face will stay like that."

He arched a single eyebrow, but Jenny was then on his case, "Aw, look at the frowny no-fun face." She stood up and walked over to Xander, well, in Tara's opinion, glided over to him and poked her finger into his cheeks, "Turn that frown upside down."

Xander, in response, only snorted, which prompted Faith to get up and walk over to Xander – she leapt up into his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs about his waist, and her lips crushed themselves against his. After a few seconds she pulled back, "Better?"

Xander's arms went around Faith's waist, a well-hidden grin quirking at the edges of his lips, "I'm not sure."

Tara flushed a little as Faith kissed Xander again, harder, and with tongue, for several more minutes before she pulled back – Jenny had busied herself by looking at her watch and Buffy was making faces at the pair, but it appeared both Xander and Faith were ignoring them, "How about that?"

Xander grinned at her in a way that Tara knew, instantly, that he'd set her up, "I'd say that passes muster."

Faith, for her part, apparently smelled a rat, "You set me up?"

He shrugged, "Faith kisses are always worth the set-up."

Faith smacked Xander on the back of the head, "Jerk."

Xander pinched Faith on the ass, "Harpy."

Tara sighed as the pair started to go back and forth, looking over at Jenny, "Are they always like this?"

Jenny shook her head, "No, but Xander and Cordelia were occasionally like this, when they were dating."

Buffy chipped in, "Yeah, but these two don't need to go look for a broom closet to go make out in, they have their own house."

Faith looked over at Buffy, "You say that like it's a bad thing, B."

Tara deadpanned, "It is when you live with a third person."

Both Xander and Faith had the good grace to blush and mutter, "Sorry, Tara," which she preened at for a moment before the former put the latter down and asked, "Okay, now that the hostilities are out of the way … what's next?"

Tara looked at Jenny, who shrugged, and nodded happily, "Girls night in." Buffy and Faith both grinned and Xander looked like he was ready to cry, "Don't worry, Xander – we need a cabana boy."

Xander paled and looked to make a break for the door, but Faith jumped on him, quickly followed by both Buffy and Jenny, the dark Slayer speaking, "Nuh-uh, Xand – you're wearing that loincloth."

Tara cheerfully ignored the pitiful whimpering from Xander – yes, tonight was going to be fun.

AN: Alright, that's the end of this chapter – one more to go … but be warned, it's going to be a LONG chapter (cursing self for leaving so many loose ends to tie up). What do you think? Reviews, please.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

AN: Warning – later on in this chapter there are sexual references and such that may not be suitable for younger readers; then again, if the younger readers are already this far in and you, the adults, haven't stopped them already…

(Sunnydale High)

"Why couldn't they have blown this place up," was a rather common comment from his Slayer over the past few months, but Wesley had done his best to put up with her rather common (and occasionally colorfully-added on to) complaint.

"It's not like it would have been THAT bad to do," Faith complained even as she attacked the dummy once again, shoving her fist right through the stuffing of the training device with snarl.

"But it was not necessary, Faith, and please be careful with our training equipment – that would be the fifth one you have destroyed in the past two months." It was a futile hope, but a hope none the less that his Slayer would actually listen to him.

Faith crushed his hopes when she ripped her hand out of the dummy and pulled the knife she kept tucked in the back of her pants, slashing the dummy and effectively gutting it, "Then tell the Council to star getting stuff that'll stand up to pissed-off Slayers, Wes." That said, Faith stalked off to go finish the homework that she had been assigned by her teachers.

Wesley looked at the dummy and then sighed, knowing that the Council appropriations officer in the area would be having yet another fit when he passed along Faith's suggestion. Still, the fact that his Slayer was still alive, sane and relatively happy had to count for something – she lived in a good home (a fact that he had been remiss about in the beginning, putting her in that ghastly hole of a motel), had friends (a fact that the members of the Council did not like, but had been told, in several languages and by several people, to deal with), she had a loving boyfriend who absolutely adored her and fought by her side when they patrolled together, and her grades had all taken a good turn.

Of course, as of late, things had been taken a turn of some kind and nobody was speaking about it – while it had not begun to affect the 'Scoobies' outright, he knew that if things started to get bad, he would have to step in and do something.

Faith looked up at Wesley and knew that he was thinking about how bad of a mood she had been in over the past week and a half – sure, a few days of it had been her and her period, but now it was something different, and she wasn't exactly sure what it was.

Faith put down her pen and frowned – no, that wasn't true, exactly; she had a good idea when all of this had started, and it had been two months ago with the 'girls night in' that Tara had come up with on the bubble. She, Jen, B and Tare had all kicked back, relaxed and done girly stuff like giving facials and painting toenails, something she'd never really tried but had wanted to, while Xand had been their 'cabana boy' (though he had somehow weaseled out of wearing that leather loincloth and opted for a pair of shorts and a tank top). That night, while Xand kept it on the level with her and B, she noticed that, Tare and Jen all just seemed to click somehow, in a way that was friendly but had an edge to it, one that she recognized as the same edge that she and Xand had.

At first, she'd dismissed it, thinking that it'd been something else entirely, but while the edge between Xand and Jen had faded away (and they had assured her that they were only friends, something they'd never cross over until much later, if ever), that edge between him and Tare was still there and it grew, little by little. When they sparred, when they talked, when they worked on school work, they just seemed to … meld, really, to where half of the time they didn't have to talk to each other. B had told her to not worry about it, but it was Red who had looked worried that had worried her – apparently Red and X had been on that level a while back and while X had been oblivious, Red had been crushing on him, hard.

Faith looked down at her book and shook her head, reassuring herself that she was NOT worried – Xand would never flake on her, never cheat on her like that, he'd swore it to her, and she knew that his word was golden. So why was it that she felt this … pit inside of her? Why was she feeling so … alone?

(Sunnydale University Library)

"I say, I quite like this place."

Xander rolled his eyes as Giles looked around the stacks and stacks of book, taking in everything, "Yay for the land of books."

Giles shot him a glare, "Philistine! You have the knowledge of all of those people and you STILL have no appreciation for a good library."

Xander rolled his eyes at Giles, "Giles, all the heads I've taken were of fighters, and they took the heads of fighters – trust me, I have an appreciation of books, but until I take the head of someone who saw the Great Library of Alexandria, I'll probably never change."

Giles glared at him for a moment and then sighed, "You're probably right… how do you know what the Great Library of Alexandria is?"

Xander gave the elder Briton an impish grin, "What's the matter, Giles, you want me to tell you ALL of my secrets?"

Giles growled at him for a moment before he went on to look at another area of the library, "Prat." Giles looked around for a few more minutes and then nodded, "This place DOES need some work, but I suppose I could whip it into shape."

Xander just shook his head, "I thought you wanted to be out of the librarian business, Giles? I mean, you go from a high school library to a university library – isn't that just more of a headache for you?"

Giles nodded, "Potentially, but now I actually have people to order around and to do some of the more menial tasks, generally students." He watched Giles take in a breath and then let it out slowly, "While I must admit that I will miss some of the legwork, I'm quite content with this job."

Xander just shrugged on his end of things, looking around, "So … where are we going to hide the demonology books? Or is that all staying over at the high school?"

Giles shook his head, "No, they will be coming here – with the school taking out the old book cage, Wesley and I feel that it's best we move the research end of our operations here, and I've found an unused area of this building to set it up in."

Given that the building was four stories tall (three above ground one below) and that only the top three were used by anyone, Xander guessed that was a safe bet, "Coolness. Now, why did you ask me over here?"

Giles turned to him and, after thinking for a second, apparently, delicately asked, "Are you and Tara having an affair?"

Xander blinked at Giles several times before shaking his head slowly and drawling out, "No, what makes you ask that?"

"Wesley and the others have noticed the inordinate amount of time you two seem to be spending together, how close you have become, and only recently has Faith started to show any real effects that she has noticed." Giles took off his glasses and polished them slightly before putting them back on, "Why is this, Xander? Are you trying to find a way to let Faith down gently?"

Xander glared at Giles before hissing, "Don't even THINK that, Rupert! I'll admit that I've been spending a LOT of time around Tara for the past few weeks, but … it's not what you think." He ran his hand through his hair and then leaned against one of the bookshelves, "What I'm about to tell you does not get to any of the others, in any form, and it sure as HELL doesn't go back to the Watchers."

Apparently the seriousness of the situation made itself apparent to Giles as he nodded immediately, "I understand, Xander, and it will not."

Xander took a breath and let it out slowly, "It started on my little trip with Adam to Seacouver, Giles, and while there I was privy to some rather interesting news." In the broad strokes Xander laid out what had happened as far as what Cassandra had said and then went into some of the finer points, like the names of the people involved in her Prophecy, "The Protector of Man, the Childe of Power and the Mother of Soil."

Giles blinked several times and then groaned, "Oh, bloody hell, Xander – when you stick your foot in it, you most certainly do it with a particular flair." He rubbed the bridge of his nose and then looked up at him again, "I take it you know who the Protector of Man and the Mother of Soil are referring to." Xander nodded at him and Giles groaned, "Please tell me that the Childe of Power is NOT Buffy – I'm not sure either you or myself would survive a pregnant Slayer."

Xander shook his head, "No, it wasn't Buffy, given something that Cassandra sent me last week." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a note, "She had one of her Visions and was able to piece a few things together as far as we're all concerned – my name and Tara's are known, but Buffy is called the 'Dead One', Willow is called the 'False One', you're referred to as 'Shaded' and someone else, it's not said who, is called 'The key'."

Giles looked at him oddly for a moment and then sighed, "I suppose that Cassandra WOULD know what she's talking about, and given what I know, those names are fairly correct." He absently reached out and pulled a book from the shelf, "Logically, this leaves Faith, Jenny and possibly Amanda as the 'Childe of Power', Xander – have you thought about this?"

Xander nodded, "Yeah, and I've eliminated Amanda as she's busy with a new student, a cop or PI or something, and she killed him to make him Immortal." Giles arched an eyebrow at him, but Xander shrugged, "Don't ask me – Duncan's kinda upset over it, she's apparently on this Boyscout … well, Girlscout kick as of late, and she thinks she's doing the right thing."

Giles chuckled at him, "You realize she will gut you, repeatedly, if that ever gets back to her, right?"

Xander nodded, "But as you promised to not say anything about this conversation, I'm safe."

Giles nodded, "Touché. So, that leaves Faith and Jenny … and you and I both know how friendly you and Jenny have been as of late – what is that all about?"

Xander shook his head, "That's for her to tell you about, Giles, if she ever wants to – she … it's complicated, and that's all I'll say about it."

It was obvious by the look on his face that Giles did not like it, but quite honestly the tension that was between himself and Jenny was just that, between him and Jenny, and no one else, "Alright, I can accept that, but if you break Faith's heart, either with Jenny or without her, I will kill you, repeatedly, Xander."

Xander looked right into Giles' eye and did not flinch, "Giles, you'll have to stand in line because Faith will get first shot at my head … and I'll let her take it."

Giles nodded, "Just so we're clear with one another. Now, where is Jenny?"

Xander rolled his eyes, "Where else? She and Tara are with Willow right now, running a small exercise in restraint."

(Campus Coffee House)

"No, Willow, don't touch it – resist it."

"But-"

"No buts about it, Willow – resist the urge."

Willow turned and glared at Jenny, "Resist a double shot espresso, non-fat, double-sugar latte with whipped cream and chocolate shavings?"

Tara nodded, sipping on her own drink, which was the same that Willow had described, "Indeed, Willow – considering it a … test."

Willow whimpered about how cruel fate was, especially when she needed to learn self-control.

(University Library – basement/first floor)

"Alright, so what's wrong, Giles? You didn't ask me all the way down here just to ask how Faith and I were."

Giles looked over at the young man, who was lounging in an old leather chair with his feet up on a desk, and nodded, "Indeed, I did not, Xander. There have been rumors that since Adam's leaving, the Sunnydale City Council and several other parts of the local government had all been receiving death threats – would you know anything about that?"

Xander shook his head, "No, I wouldn't, but given Methos' past, I'm not really surprised – when he does a job, it's not half-way."

Giles groaned, knowing he wasn't going to like the answer to his next question, "Xander, does he know about the prophecy?"

Xander nodded, "He was there when Cassandra explained it to me, him and Duncan – why?"

He shook his head, "No reason, really, but I was worried this could be part of some elaborate scheme."

Xander looked at him and deadpanned, "This is Methos, Death on a Horse, the big schnoz himself, Giles – of COURSE it's part of a scheme." Giles nodded his head in concession and Xander went on, "But as to what scheme he's up to … I don't know, and quite frankly I have other worries."

Giles arched an eyebrow at Xander, "And those would be?"

Xander reached into his jacket and tossed him a letter, "Involving Dru – she wants to meet with me, apparently for the last time."

Giles read the letter over and sighed at the rather oblique way Drusilla had asked for Xander to meet her – honestly, the thought of the vampire, no, Kindred asking him to meet her for 'tea and cakes' wasn't anything he wasn't expecting, but the fact that it was written in an older form of Latin, one once used in the Roman Empire's time, was what struck him, "Since when do you speak ancient Latin, Xander?"

"I don't speak it, Giles," Xander shot back at him with a cheeky grin, "but that's how the Terakan Order used to communicate their orders, not to mention with what Amanda and Adam both taught me, I'm deciphered it."

Giles nodded and handed the letter back, "You are aware that this is most probably a trap, right?"

Xander shrugged as he put away the letter, "Probably, but I can't run the risk of pissing off that Clan, Giles, so I have to go and meet with her. I don't know about you, but I don't want to worry about more than our garden variety vamps around here."

He had to concede that fact, "Point, but did you get anything as to WHY she wants you there, other than this nebulous 'goodbye'?"

Xander shook his head, obviously ill at ease with the idea, "No, and that's what's got me worried, Giles. I have classes this afternoon, then I'm going to San Fran, as requested – if I don't check in by sun-up tomorrow morning, wait a half-hour and then tell Faith and the others to come get me."

Giles arched his eyebrow again at Xander, "You realize that the city of San Francisco might not survive that, Xander."

Xander nodded, "I know, Giles, but if I had a platoon of Marines to send, I'd send them instead."

"That doesn't fill me with confidence on just how badly this entire situation could go, Xander."

"It shouldn't Giles, it really shouldn't." Xander then got up and flipped him a sloppy two-finger salute, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to face the horror known as University-level Algebra."

Giles shook his head at the young man as he left, "Over four hundred years of experience in his skull and he still can't remember the basics of quadratic equations…"

(Later)

"Don't worry, Xander, you'll get it one of these days," she murmured to him even as they left their last class for the day, each of them holding their test results. While Tara had always been fairly good at Algebra, Xander, apparently, had not if it did not have a practical application.

Xander groused slightly as he started at the grade of 'D-', "You'd think they'd make the instructions clearer, Tare! All it says is 'find the answer', but it doesn't tell you to do it in a specific way." Xander had, instead of using the quadratic formula, used some kind of math that Tara was unfamiliar with to find the correct answer, which had put the professor on edge for a bit while she explained WHY Xander's answer, while correct, was incorrect.

Tara settled on just patting him on the forearm lightly, "It's alright, Xander – we'll study some more this weekend."

He shook his head and sighed, "No, not this weekend, Tare – San Fran, remember?"

She sighed and nodded, now remembering what he had told herself and Faith the day before, "You're right – are you SURE you don't need anyone to go with you?"

Xander nodded to her even as they made for the parking lot, "I'm sure, Tara, and besides, now you and Faith can work out whatever it is that's causing the friction between you two."

Tara held her tongue on the real cause, instead opting for, "Friction? What friction?"

Xander looked over at her, "Don't play dumb with me, Tara, I perfected the art with Willow years ago. I know something's up and, honestly, I don't think there is anything I can do about it right now, so the two of you need to talk it out while I'm away."

Tara said nothing to that as they reached her car and climbed in, given that Xander's was in the shop after a 'driving lesson' with Faith had gone horribly wrong – nobody was sure exactly HOW the car had managed to end up in a tree, roof-side down, and twenty feet off of the ground, and for nobody to have been hurt, but Xander had soiled himself and Faith, the observer, had been forcibly restrained from killing Buffy, whom was TRYING to learn how to drive properly. Honestly, there had been no physical way of doing things like that, none that she could have found, and from what she, Giles and Jenny had found, not an ounce of magic had been used. Buffy had, of course, professed that there had been some kind of deer in the roadway, but this was while Xander had been doing his best to keep Faith's hands from going around her sister Slayer's neck.

Tara shook her head and looked around for that very same 'deer' as Xander pulled out of the parking lot and drove them back to their hom… house. While it had the feeling and occasional warmth of a home, it wasn't hers – it was Xander's and Faith's home, she was just a semi-permanent guest there. Xander had, of course, welcomed her in with open arms and Faith, at first, had done so as well, but when she and Xander had begun to get inexplicably closer to one another, Faith's seeming acceptance of her being there had begun to dry up.

Of course she had checked for magical influences on both herself and Xander, seeing if someone, or something, had been influencing them to get as close as they had become, but finding nothing Tara found herself wondering just WHY it was that she felt so… GOOD around Xander. Sure, he wasn't hard on the eyes, and he was charmingly funny when he put his mind to it, but ever since killing Jebodiah, Tara had sworn off men for a few decades and had even been on several dates with some rather nice young ladies, but so far she had found girls that wanted to experiment only, which was okay with her, given how long she'd been with a man. She had come home from these dates and, generally while Faith and Buffy were still out patrolling with Xander and Wesley, had stated sulking until Faith and Xander got home – Faith generally went up to take a shower while Xander raided the 'fridge, so she and Xander started talking about how her date went, or didn't go at all on one occasion, and soon it evolved into a natural thing for her to tell him any and everything.

Faith, once, had walked in on them as she was breaking down about how this one girl had set her up, calling her all kinds of hurtful names and Xander had pulled her into a hug without thinking twice about it, so when she opened her eyes she was looking at Faith and saw the semi-hurt look on the Slayer's face until she offered up an explanation on what had happened. Faith had accepted this, saying that the girl needed to be beaten, hard, and even offered to do it but Xander had nipped that one in the bud, saying that the girl would get hers, "Like you said, Faith, Karma's a bitch and she knows it."

Of course, since then a good month had passed and Tara was really starting to see how close she and Xander were getting – nine times out of ten, she didn't even need to speak, arching an eyebrow would do, he just did what was asked or not asked without any kind of provocation; in a way, it was kinda cool, as she'd only had that level of communication between herself and the members of any coven she had ever been a part of, and given that he was male, it added an entirely new dimension to it, as if she wanted to point out, "Indeed, they can be taught!"

Tara shook herself out of her daze as she felt her car turn off and looked to see they were in front of the house, Xander looking over at her, "Tara? Are you okay?"

She nodded slightly, giving him a slight half-smile that she knew told him that everything was okay, "I'm fine, Xander, just… thinking."

He gave her a quick grin that made her knees, though she was sitting down, a little weak, "Tried that once or twice, didn't really take."

Her response was eloquent – she stuck her tongue out at him, but he surprised her by lashing his hand out and catching it between his fingers, "Hey!"

He gave her an innocent look, "Yes?"

"Leth go oft my thung!"

He grinned at her, "Let go of your thong? Why Tara, that's the incorrect name of the bodypart I have ahold of and I though Faith was the only person in the house who wore those."

She glared at him some more and bit down on his fingers, eliciting a yelp from him, "Serves you right, trying to make a woman hold her tongue." Xander, very diplomatically (at least in her opinion), kept his mouth shut as they got out of the car, so she decided to have some fun with him, "Besides, I don't wear underwear." With that lie said and circling in Xander's admittedly-overactive imagination, she walked into the house, very aware of the fact that Xander had stopped and was gaping at her back – yes, revenge was good.

(Later – backyard)

"So why'd B, Red, Wolfie and Wuss take my patrol tonight?" Tara looked up at her with a perfect 'I have no idea what you're talking about' look on her face and Faith growled, "Look, Tare, I know something's up and it ain't Xand, so who's running what scam?"

Tara sighed and closed the book she'd been reading, something written in a language Faith didn't know, and she then laid back to let the sun work on the parts of her body that weren't covered by a rather conservative bathing suit, "Faith, we need to talk."

She snorted and laid back, picking up a bottle of oil as she did, "No shit." Faith liberally applied the oil to her legs and her arms, going just a little on her stomach, and then around her neck – when she figured out who stole her string bikini, the one she liked teasing Xand with, she was going to hurt somebody, badly, given that her only recourse was a pair of her panties and one of her sports bras.

"I'm not trying to steal Xander from you, Faith." She looked over at Tara, who was absently watching her, "I know that is what you're worried about."

Faith snorted at the Immortal Wicca, "Don't shit me, Tare – you wanna jump his bones."

Tara rolled her eyes at her, "Faith, I've been dating women for the last two months – what does that tell you?"

"That you play both sides of the field?"

Tara growled a little at her and Faith repressed a smirk – Tare was losing her cool, this could get fun, "Faith, I was MARRIED for almost thirty long years, in which I was whored out, passed around, abused and once even KILLED – trust me, having a sexual relationship with a man right now is the LAST thing I want."

Faith looked over at her and fully smirked, "Then why is it when you're around him you're so wet you've gotta stop yourself from humpin' him? Slayer nose, remember?"

Tara blushed, which was enough for Faith in her books, "Alright, I'll admit, there's something there, but… I don't know what it is."

Faith rolled her eyes, "Yeah, you do, it's called being horny and wantin' some Xander-lovin'."

Tara, apparently, finally had enough and snapped, "I'm sorry! I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M FEELING!"

Faith gaped at the sudden rush of power she felt from Tare and shook slightly as the skies above rumbled, but then slowly eased into her question, not wanting to make Tare angry enough to throw lightning bolts or anything, "Wha-what do you mean?"

Tara took a deep breath and let it out, Faith feeling the power in the air easing as she did, "I… when I'm around Xander, I can't explain how I feel, Faith. It's like I'm… drawn to him, I don't know why, I can't explain it, but that's just how it is."

Faith nodded slightly, knowing the feeling – once she had gotten over Xander being an Immortal (not to mention the monumental fucking he gave her), she had felt that same thing, "I kinda get that, Tare, I've been there, but why didn't you tell me?"

Tara snorted at her, "Because of the way you were just acting to me, that's why. I… I don't want to break you and Xander up – young love isn't rare, but true love is."

Faith worked her jaw a few times and blinked – true love? Is that what she and Xand had? "Tare…"

Tara shook her head, "It is, Faith – I can see it in your auras, how they mix whenever you two are in the room, touching, anything. It's just starting, but it will grow, trust me."

Faith shook her head, "No, no it isn't – Xand and I… we're just…" She looked down at her hands and was surprised to see them trembling – why? She watched her hands for a minute and then felt the seat she was on shift a little, making her look over and she was surprised to see Tara there, smiling sadly, "Tara…"

The Immortal put a finger to her lips, "I know you're scared, Faith, I can see it, but with love, there's nothing to be scared of." Faith didn't even flinch as Tara pulled her into a tight embrace, which was tough given that they were both covered in oil, so there was some slipping there.

Faith semi-returned the hug, "I don't wanna lose him, Tare. I don't know if I could… could…"

She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence even as she felt Tara's lips moving towards her ear, whispering, "You won't Faith, not as long as the sun still shines and the Goddess still exists. You and he are linked."

She felt hot tears starting to build and fall even as she increased her grip on Tara, sniffling for a moment and then breaking into tears, "He can't love me, Tare! I'm a Slayer, w-we don't live that long."

Faith felt Tara rocking her slightly, "He'll always love you, Faith… now and forever…" Tara then started telling her sweet nothings, calming her down as she did until, inexplicably, Faith found herself dropping off to sleep in the arms of another woman.

Naturally, that's when B, Red, Wuss and Wolfie walked in – man, wasn't life just a real bitch at times?

(San Francisco)

For the tenth time in two minutes, Xander wondered if he was in the right spot – the clues that Dru had left in her letter had been vague, even for her, but given that his ancient Latin was rusty, at best, he could have been at the right place or ten miles away.

The place in question was actually a rather nice bookstore that had, if rumors were true, been built on top of an old fallout shelter, which made it a perfect place to have a haven if the shelter was still there, but with the sun having set in San Francisco and the local 'wildlife' starting to come out, he was more than a little wary about getting caught outside.

"You can do this, Xand," he muttered to himself, reaching into his jacket slightly to reassure himself that his sword and other weaponry was there; he trusted Dru to be Dru, the Kindred Dru, that is, but the other members of the Clan he didn't trust as far as he could throw them, so he'd armed himself as soon as he had gotten off his chartered plane from the Sunnydale airport. Sadly, despite the fact he had (on top of his main sword) two knives, four stakes, a squirt bottle of holy water, a road flare and a short sword, he STILL felt unarmed, so he decided that, if there was a next time, he'd figure out a way to bring guns into the equation.

Upon entering the store he was greeted with a smile by a young woman with seven piercings in each ear, two in her nose and one on each eyebrow, "Hi."

"Erm, hello. I'm looking for-"

She cut him off, pointing to the back, "Dru's waiting for you, back in the Ancient Cultures." She looked him up and down, smiling as she did, "So, you're Xander." Xander didn't acknowledge that she was right or not, but she went on anyway, "Funny, the way Dru was talking about you, I would have figured you to be the James Bond type."

He gave her a slightly roguish grin and gave her his best Connery impression, "Why, thank you, young lady, but I'm seeing someone."

The woman, whose nametag read 'Laura', sniffed, "Preferred Moore, myself."

He hissed slightly, "Philistine!" She stuck her tongue out at him, showing that it, too, was pierced, but waved him back towards the book stacks.

The book stacks were like any others you'd expect in a bookstore, but they were mostly jumbled together in a fashion that made a kind of natural maze, which worried Xander for a moment until he realized that was the point, "Dru?"

"Here, Alexander," came her whispered voice from one of the stacks. He followed it and saw that a stack was pivoted to the side, revealing a tunnel, "Follow me."

Not one to take things lightly, he stepped forwards while unsheathing his broadsword from his coat, instantly wishing his daggers weren't strapped to his ankles; the tunnel was, indeed, that of an old community fallout shelter and dimly lit as he followed Dru down the corridor – his instincts were screaming at him that he was doing something monumentally stupid even as his brain was reassuring him that Dru wouldn't hurt him, that she'd had too many chances to do so already.

Finally, though, they reached the bottom of the shaft down and Dru turned, letting Xander take in her simple dress and pale features, "You won't need your sword, Xander."

"Sorry, Dru, but force of habit," he muttered as he looked around, resting the tip of his sword against the floor, but making no motion of putting it up. "So, why did you bring me down here?"

She gave him a slight smile, "Two reasons – first, I wanted you to meet my Childe, Laura." He arched an eyebrow and she nodded, "I can feel that she liked you."

"I'm dating a Slayer, Dru – no playing matchmaker."

She pouted for a moment, "Fine. The other reason I asked you here … was to say goodbye, Xander."

He blinked, "What?"

She looked down, "The Giovanni know that we are here, Alexander, and it is only a matter of time before they come to destroy us as they tried to do centuries ago." He could hear the sorrow in her voice, the heartache in it and Xander was almost moved to tears before she looked up – in her eyes was pure hate, pure and utter LOATHING, "I shall piss blood on their bodies before we allow that to happen again, Xander."

He jerked back slightly, "Nice mental image, Dru…"

Dru jerked a little and looked down, as if ashamed that her anger had gotten the better of her as she mumbled, "Sorry, Kitten." After a moment, she looked back up, her face split into a grin, "So, now what do we do? I do believe a 'going away party' is in order, and as you're currently spoken for… let's go dancing."

Xander blinked even as he felt a shiver run up and down his spine– this wasn't going to be fun, whatever it was.

(Sunnydale – backyard of Harris')

Tara wasn't sure who started it, but what she knew right then was that Faith was a good kisser and, given that Faith's hands were pawing at the front of her bikini top, she was a little too grabby for Tara's taste.

She knew it was wrong, she knew that if anyone caught them, they'd never be able to explain it… but as she felt the lust starting to take over her thoughts, she ceased to care

(San Francisco)

Xander had been expecting a club, a night-life kind of area, hell, even an S&M place of business, but the place that Dru had taken him to was unlike any other place he had ever been, "A vineyard?"

Dru, still dressed as she was earlier, nodded happily as they made their way towards the main house, "Yes, a vineyard, Alex – more importantly, there is a party here tonight, bidding our Clan farewell and I… I wished to show you off a bit."

Xander arched an eyebrow even as his hand went to the sword he had been able to keep on him – sadly, Dru had talked him out of the rest of his weapons and, while he trusted her, he didn't trust the other Kindred as far as he could throw them, "Oh, so I'm some kind of prize bull now?"

She laughed slightly, taking the opportunity to look up him and down slowly, "Most assuredly you would be, Alex, were I inclined to keep you that way. No, tonight you are a friend of Clan Cappadocian, so you are safe enough to not need that sword of yours."

Xander shook his head as they reached the stairs leading to the main house, "Sorry, Dru, but where I go, the sword goes – it's not business, it's personal."

She looked at him oddly, "Isn't that backwards?"

He shook his head, "Nope – it's not business because I have a PERSONAL interest in keeping my head right where it is."

Dru laughed gaily at this even as they reached the top of the stairs, his eyes searching the area, "I do believe I'll miss your humor, Alex – I have so few friends these days who don't color their jokes with dark humor or double meanings." She knocked on the door once and it immediately opened, showing an older man there in a butler's outfit with a smile on his face, "Drusilla and Friend, of Clan Cappadocian."

"David's been waiting for you, Drusilla. Come in." The butler eyed him slightly as Xander followed Drusilla in, "Weapons are not permitted here, young man."

"I go nowhere without being armed, sir – I mean no disrespect, but it's become habit."

"Quite alright, young man," another voice said, filled with understanding and good humor. Xander turned and saw a man, early thirties, with dark hair drawn back in a widow's peak and wearing a rather stylish suit hugging Dru. "Drusilla has told me much about your kind, Alexander, and I take it as no sign of disrespect."

Xander merely arched an eyebrow as the butler closed the door and disappeared, "I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage, sir – Alexander Harris, Sunnydale, California."

The man nodded briefly as several other people in the area heard this and hissed slightly, "The Hellmouth, yes, we know – my name is Julian Luna, and I welcome you to my home."

Xander accepted the offered hand, "Mr. Luna. Pardon my appearance, but I wasn't expecting to go anywhere but to see Dru."

Luna laughed a little, the laugh of someone who had seen and done a lot worse than what appeared to be present, "Oh, I understand. Besides, you'll fit right in with the Gangrels or Brujah."

As Xander and Julian drew towards the rest of the group, Xander leaned over and hissed at Dru, "What's going on here, Dru? Who is he?"

She smiled at him slightly, "Julian Luna, of Clan Ventrue, and Prince of San Francisco. Don't worry, Xander – you're safe here."

He gave her a look, "Dru, I'm not some neonate from another country – I KNOW who this guy is, and I know what his position is, but what I don't know is why you hid this from me."

She didn't even flinch at the tone in his voice, which he had to admit was a little harsh, "Would you have come if I had told you I wanted to show you off to my friends?"

"Of course I would have, Dru – I would have come more heavily armed."

Dru rolled her eyes at him, slightly, "As he said, you have nothing to fear from Prince Luna – he's quite fair in his dealings with people, especially with Immortals." Her tone then took a dry note, "Especially Immortals, given how good you and your kind tend to be with swords."

Any remark he was going to make was cut off as they entered what appeared to be a library, a large table in the middle of it, and that table was filled with people ranging from male to female, young to old, young in appearance to older in appearance (given that Xander KNEW that some of the people, if not most, were Kindred), and it ran the gamut as far as race went. Xander followed Dru as she took her place next to David, who was dressed in a fine black silk suit and not wearing any kind of makeup, and stood behind her – several others in the room had people standing behind them, but none of them were Immortal.

At the head of the table, Julian Luna stood with a smile on his face, "Friends, we have come here tonight to bid farewell to Clan Cappadocian from our fair city; the situation being what it is-" Julian was cut off by one of the people sitting at the other end, dressed in a business suit and wearing a scowl, "What is it, Clan Brujah?"

The man stood, tall, wide and imposing, and glared at him even as Xander saw Julian tense slightly, "Who is this lowly mortal? Why has he been brought here?"

The woman standing behind the man, dressed in leathers and punk regalia and looking quite retro with her Mohawk, snickered, "Maybe he's dinner?"

Xander put his hand on Dru's shoulder as she growled and made to stand, "I'll handle this, Dru." She sat back down and he looked at Luna, who nodded, and he spoke, "My name is Alexander Harris, from Sunnydale, just north of Los Angeles, and I was brought here as a friend of Clan Cappadocian."

The man sat back down, a sneer on his lips, "A freak from the Hellmouth – your kind are trash."

"I could say the same of Clan Brujah, but that would insult the memory of how great your Clan once was," Xander replied coolly as several of the people at the table shifted nervously.

The man made to jump at him but Julian rapped his knuckles against the table, "Clan Brujah, you will remember your place and that you insulted him first – he is merely returning the gesture. More to that, he is an Immortal."

Murmurs quickly spread around the table and Xander sighed, "That's kinda supposed to be a secret, Luna – not everyone should be told that."

Julian smiled at Xander and then laughed a little, "Don't worry, Xander, you and your friends are quite safe from anyone in this room, not to mention those who may be told of this secret. Should you and yours be attacked, it will be taken as a break in the Masquerade and be dealt with as such."

Xander arched an eyebrow at this, knowing just what that meant due to the absorbed memories of the Terakan, but decided to put in his own two cents, "More to the point, the head of the Clan will be dealt with by my hand, should myself or my friends be attacked." He looked at the Brujah and narrowed his eyes a little, "Trust me, I'm a vindictive son of a bitch when I need to be."

"Oh, yes, you are, Alex," Dru said from in front of him, her tone telling him she was smiling. "Why, I remember those men you sniped with the rifle, and the one you ripped his throat out on your first full day as an Immortal before you killed the man who killed your parents."

From the other end of the table, a striking woman with dark hair and a thin, aristocratic build smiled as she sipped from a goblet, "Why, Drusilla, you sound as if you're proud of him."

Dru wiggled in her seat a little, obviously preening, "I'm proud of my Kitten." Xander refused to blush as several of the Kindred snickered at his nickname, but Dru went on, "Though now he's not my Kitten anymore – he's my Hunting Cat, given how sharp his claws and teeth are."

Several muttered about Dru and 'Malks' or 'Crazies', but Xander shot them glares that quieted them down even as Julian spoke up, "Now, as I was saying, we are here tonight to bid farewell to Clan Cappadocian – may they fare well and thrive in their new city to the East."

(Sunnydale)

Faith moaned as she felt Tara's lips trail down her body again, both of their naked bodies dripping in sweat – she didn't now HOW she and Tare and started doing the dirty… and right now she didn't CARE, "YES!"

(San Francisco – Luna Estate)

Xander, from a darkened corner, calmly leafed through a randomly-picked book while the Clans mingled and schmoozed, frankly not giving one hoot in hell about anything or anyone else in the room – sure, there had been some rather ominous growling from the Brujahs, but when he had channeled Fido, snarled back and stepped forwards, the pair stepped back for a moment, as if to reassess and regroup. Still, aside from that one incident, and a few lingering looks from some of the female Kindred of the various Clans (including one VERY hot Assamite woman), everything was practically room temperature… and he couldn't BELIEVE he made that pun, even in his own mind.

Of course the guy who had been keeping an eye on him for the past twenty minutes or so wasn't even Kindred – one of the Kindred women had said something to him and he'd blushed a bright, rosy red color, so Xander had him pegged as not only human, but as a cop, "So, why are you here?"

The guy looked at him dumbly, "Huh?"

Xander looked up at him, "Why are you here? Obviously not Kindred, and you almost scream 'COP'."

Man snorted, "Because I am – Detective Frank Kohanek, SFPD, and I help take care of the Kindred stuff in cases."

Xander shook his head, "No offense, but what does Luna have on you to have you under his thumb, covering shit up?"

Frank frowned at him, "He kept me from digging too far, too quickly, when I found out about the Kindred, and he saved my life." Frank then smirked, "Took me about four years to really get what he was trying to do, but it finally took and I've… mellowed, sorta."

Xander smirked right back at him, "Yeah, takes a bit to get used to the whole 'vampire' thing."

Frank moved over next to him and looked at him oddly, "The others are talking about you, saying that you're something called an 'Immortal'; you another kind of Kindred?"

Xander stopped reading and looked over the spine of his book with a glare that Amanda would have been proud of, "Do I look like I'm lacking a tan?"

"Kindred can go out in the sun if they feed in the morning," Frank pointed out with a grin.

Xander nodded, "Point, but no, I'm something completely different, Frank, and the less you know, the better off you'll be."

Frank scowled at him, "Are you trying to 'protect' me?"

Xander shook his head, closing the book he'd been reading, "No, not at all – I'm limiting the number of fronts you're fighting on; trust me, there's nothing about me you need to know other than I carry a three-foot long piece of sharpened steel in my jacket and am not afraid to use it."

The cop looked at him and blinked, "To the point, aren't you?"

Xander shrugged and opened the book again, "Saves time."

Frank looked at him oddly, "What's time to an Immortal? Don't you guys, like, live forever?"

Xander shook his head, "Nope – we CAN be killed, but I'm not telling you how."

Frank nodded, conceding the point, "Okay, so, what's so big about this town you're from? Sunnydale sounds like a nice place."

Xander smirked and then chuckled darkly, "Yeah, it's a real scream… especially after dark." Xander then jerked, feeling a chill go up and down his spine – damn it that was starting to get annoying! "I'll be right back, I need to speak to Dru." Frank nodded and Xander went over to where Dru, David and Julian were talking with a tall, bald and rather imposing man, "Dru, I need to go, I think something's wrong."

Dru gave him a surprised look, "What makes you think that?"

Xander shook his head, "Gut instinct, mostly, but I think there's something else." He turned to Julian, who was nodding slightly and shook his hand, "Thank you for your hospitality, Prince Luna." He then turned to David, growling slightly, "Protect Dru or else we'll meet and I assure you I won't be in a good mood." David nodded as he turned to Dru and hugged her, "Be safe, Dru, and write me."

She hugged him back, "I will, Alexander, and you be safe as well – I want you to meet my great-great grandchildren some day."

He gave her a quick grin and made for the door, not surprised at all that Frank was standing there with keys in hand, "Come on, kid, we're taking my car. It's surprising what you can get away with as a cop these days…"

(Sunnydale – hours later)

"Faith?" Xander walked through the house, sword drawn in one hand and pistol in the other, his senses straining to find anyone – he knew Tara was there, he had felt her Quickening already, but he had yet to find her, "Faith? Tara? Where are you?" He went down to the basement, where Tara had her minor temple set up and he was surprised to find Tara there, wrapped in a robe, tears streaking down her cheeks, "Tara? Tare? What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," was the only response he got for a few minutes, which irritated him so he left Tara in the basement and went to the second floor, and once there it didn't take him long to get to the bathroom, where the shower was running.

"Faith?" He nudged the door open and walked in, only to be greeted by a wall of steam that clouded and choked everything, "Faith?"

"…Xand?" He looked in the direction of the shower, the water suddenly shutting off, and after a few seconds he heard someone crawling along the tile floor.

Xander knelt down as Faith crawled towards him, her dark hair soaked and naked body red from the hot water and steam, "Faith? What's wrong? What happened?"

She looked up into his eyes and instantly he could see the pain and emotion there, "I'm sorry, Xand, we… we tried, we really did…"

He enfolded her into a hug, his clothes quickly soaking, "It's alright, Faith, we'll work though it… whatever it is." He gently kissed her on top of the head but felt her shrink a little, which made him pull back, "Faith?"

She shook her head and huddled into a small ball, starting to rock back and forth, "No, don't kiss me… haven't earned it."

Xander just sat there, bewildered, as Faith went on to repeat that and at the way she shrugged off every attempt he made to help her off of the ground or to dry her off. What in the name of hell had happened?

(Two Days Later – Jenny's house)

Jenny looked at her new house-mate, "Tara, what's going on? Why did you move out of Xander's house?"

"It's complicated," was the only response she got from the Immortal Wicca, which irritated Jenny to no end as it was the only response she had gotten to ANYTHING from Tara over the past two days. Something had set the older woman off in such a way that she had moved into the Sunnydale Motel for two days and not even Faith was talking about what happened, which irritated Xander and herself more than anything.

Jenny sighed and walked down the hall to the kitchen of her three-bedroom house (while she'd had two bedrooms free, one was actually her library), where she found Xander standing at the sink, looking down at a dagger in his hands, "Xander?"

He looked up at her, "Hey, Jenny. She talking yet?"

Jenny shook her head, "Nothing productive – Faith?"

The younger Immortal shook his head, "No dice there – she's stopped guilt-tripping over everything, but so far she seems to just clam up over everything else." He then sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "I'm not sure what to be angrier over, Jenny – them not talking or the fact I can't put my finger on the problem."

Jenny shrugged and walked over, patting Xander on the shoulder semi-comfortingly, "Xander, if I had an easy answer, I would give it to you, but as I do not… all I can say is that things will work out as they are supposed to." She then took up a spot at the counter next to him, leaning against both it and him, "How did you meeting with Drusilla go?"

"Well, it went okay, except for the fact I either pissed off or scared the Brujah clan – go me," he chuckled weakly, which brought a smile to her lips. If Xander was laughing, it couldn't be that bad.

"That's good to hear, Xander." Several minutes lapsed before she pulled away and looked at him again, "Did you really tell Rupert to send the girls if you had not come back or called this morning?"

Xander had the good grace to blush, an action she found rather adorable as he stammered for an answer, but she saved him with a hand to his chest and a chuckle, "It's alright, Xander, I know you did what you thought was best."

Xander apparently regained enough of his composure to grin at her, "I should spank you for that."

Jenny felt her heart beat faster for a few seconds before she grinned and shook her head, "I'm still too much woman for you, Xander, and you never know, I might like it." Again, Xander blushed and Jenny marked herself up another point on an imaginary score board.

Xander stopped blushing and grinned at her, "Would you prefer me to spank you with a paddle or my hand after I've turned you over my knee, Jenny?" Jenny blushed and notched up a point for Xander even as he stopped grinning, "I'm going to go talk with Tara, Immortal to Immortal."

Jenny fought down her blush and nodded, "Keep blood off of the carpet, Xander." He grinned at her and walked out of the kitchen, at which point she absently fanned herself – was it warm, or was it just her?

Even as Jenny wondered this, Xander found himself on the wrong end of a short sword, "Hi, Tara."

The blonde Wicca was glaring at him over the guard of her sword, "What are you doing here?"

"Standing with a blade to my groin?" A sharp dig of the point told him to stop joking around, "I'm here to talk, that's all."

Tara glared at him for about two more seconds before she sighed and dropped her sword to the ground, "Go away, Xander."

He shook his head, "No dice, Tare – we're going to talk about this, one way or another, and I really don't want to be a real bastard about this." He walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders, feeling her first tense up and then relax as he steered her towards the room's two chairs. Once she was sitting, he sat in the other one, facing her, "Well? Do you want to start, or do I have to get annoying? I do annoying very well – ask Giles, if you want the real deal."

Tara snorted and chuckled a little bit as she leaned back into her chair, crossing one leg over the other in a way that instantly reminded him of Sharon Stone, only Tara was wearing a longer skirt, "Are you sure, Xander? I don't w-want to make you m-mad."

He sighed, "Tanya," he saw her jerk at this and was sure she knew he used that name for a reason, "I'm not mad, I just want answers."

She nodded, "Faith and I were in the back yard, talking, and we had a small heart-to-heart about how… close you and I had gotten over the past months; she thought I was trying to steal you from her, but I told her that I didn't KNOW why I felt the way I did about you." He quirked an eyebrow and she blushed, looking down, "I-I feel safe around you, safer than I've felt in a long time, Xander, and I thank you for that."

He nodded a little, "No problem, Tara. What happened next?"

"We hugged and she started to drop off to sleep- did you know she purrs in her sleep?" He nodded and smiled a little even as Tara blinked a few times, "Anyway, that's when Buffy and the others came in – they left pretty quickly, Faith woke up and we went back to sunbathing… and then we, well, we started making out."

Xander arched an eyebrow, "I knew Faith was occasionally into girls, but if she wanted to have a relationship-"

Tara shook her head violently, "NO! No, it wasn't like that, Xander. Something… it was like something was MAKING us do that, a compulsion…" She looked down and he could tell she was blushing, "We started having sex, right there on the back patio, and eventually ended up in your bed." When Tara looked back up he was not too surprised to see tears in her eyes, "Xander, I honestly don't know what happened, I swear to you."

Xander, for his part, had only heard up to where she had started talking about compulsion, and then he had only really been half-listening – Cassandra's words came back to him, the Prophecy, all of it, and as Tara finished he groaned and put his face into his hands, "Fuck, this isn't good."

He heard Tara suck in a breath, "I… I can leave Sunnydale, if you want."

His head shot up, "Nonononono, Tara, not that, it's just that I remembered something Cassandra told me."

Tara's eyebrow shot up, "Cassandra? As in the Witch of the Woods?"

Xander nodded, "Yeah, her, we met while I was off with a mutual… acquaintance of hers and mine." He stood up and walked over, kissing Tara on top of the head, "Trust me, Tara, I think things will work out fine, but I need to do some research first before I can tell you or Faith anything. Just… be patient, okay?"

She looked up at him, blushing lightly, "Alright, Xander, but… tell us something soon, okay?"

He gave her a winning smile as he fished in his pocket for his cell phone, "Don't worry, Tare, things will go great." With that, he turned towards the door and started dialing a number he had committed to memory. "Yes, Human Resources? I need to speak with Adam Pierson, and tell him it's in relation to Cassandra."

(Several hours later)

"Again, why is it that I'm being sidelined, Wuss?" Faith's voice was edged with anger even as she stalked back and forth, but from his vantage point he could tell that she was not going to be in the best of moods, even with the news he had to tell her.

"Because Mr. Harris has something to talk to you about, Faith," Wesley said in his most pompous tone, which Xander KNEW would tick Faith off enough that she'd growl and sit down on the first thing that presented itself.

Like clockwork, Faith growled and plopped down on the edge of the table, "Well, where is he? I'm waiting?"

"Right here, honey," Xander said as he walked out of the bookstacks, his signal to Wesley to get scarce, quickly, something that Wes did.

Faith stopped growling and smiled at him, "Hey, Xand, what's up?" She then looked down at the front of his pants and frowned, "Not you, I see."

"Two more months, Faith, that's what you wanted, that's what you're getting," he reminded her, which brought an even bigger pout, her overly-cute one that he could almost never resist. Somehow, though he did resist, "That's not why I'm here, Faith."

She smirked, "Not even a quickie?" The look he gave her was enough to snap her out of her playful mood – he never gave her looks like that, not unless it was important, "What is it?"

"Hear me out, okay?" She nodded and he went on, "I think I know what caused you and Tara to do what it is that you two did."

Faith froze in place, shocked, "W-what?"

Xander took the opportunity that his girlfriend presented him, "It wasn't your fault, Faith – it was Prophecy." Her eyes narrowed instantly and he held up his hands, "I know, I know, but lemme explain and prove it."

"Talk fast, Xander." Oh, shit – his name, not even one of her cutsie names for him. He was in only moderately deep shit, "NOW, Xander, before I break out the middle and real names."

He winced, "You remember when Methos and I took that trip? Met an old… friend of his, an acquaintance, really, and she's a Seer – anyway, she's almost never wrong and she had a prophecy about an Immortal child being born."

Faith growled at him, "So you and Tara gotta do the nasty?"

Xander began to sweat – this wasn't good, "Not just myself and Tara – you're part of it, too."

Faith arched an eyebrow, "Wait a sec – you said that Immortals can't have kids."

He nodded, "Yeah, I did, but this is different – prophecy sys the Protector of Man, Mother of Soil and Childe of Power would all contribute to make this child possible, but after that Cassandra didn't tell me what was the what. I don't know what is going to happen, or when, or even if it's me who is the father, but you two are definitely parts of it."

Faith looked at him warily now, "But you've never let prophecy dictate your life – hell, even B agrees with that, that you tell Prophecy to fuck off on a daily basis."

He nodded, sighing, "I know, and that's what's worrying me, Faith. Free Will and all that, it's what I love about being me." He then snorted, "Of course, being Immortal, I only have partial Free Will, so that could be part of it, too."

"Do you trust this Cassie woman?"

Xander arched an eyebrow, "Honestly? No – I only really trust Amanda, and I'm starting to trust Tara."

"But… you and Methos, and that Duncan guy, you guys are tight."

Xander shook his head, "We're alright as acquaintances, but I don't trust either one of them." He sat down next to her and propped his feet up, "With Duncan, yeah, it has to do with how convenient his story is about his last student dying, but both Methos and Amanda say he's good folk, so I tolerate him. With Methos, though, I don't trust him because I shouldn't, and he agreed with me on that."

Faith nodded at this, "Okay, I can kinda understand that, but… why wouldn't it be you? Isn't that what 'Alexander' means?" He blinked at her and she held up both of her hands, "Hold it, I was talkin' to Red and she told me that – sue me."

He nodded, "Okay, I get that, and, well, stranger things have happened." He sighed and leaned his head back, slumping in his seat just a little, "This is weird."

Faith walked up to him and sat down in his lap, "Would it be so bad? Havin' a kid and all?" She leaned against his chest and sighed, "Sure, I ain't from great stock, given my mom and not knowin' my dad, but…"

He nodded, "I know the feeling, only I could only hope to have not known Tony. Still, it'd be… interesting, to say the least." He felt the siren song of his kind in his head and turned to see Tara walking into the Library, well, not so much walking as he saw her pushed into it and then saw Jenny's favorite bracelet on the retreating hand, "Tara."

(Earlier – Jenny's house)

"I thought the meetings were going to be held at the new library?"

Jenny ignored the question as she made her way to the car, "Rupert said it was not ready yet, so we are going to the high school."

Tara rolled her eyes, "I'm over two hundred years old, I've never stepped FOOT into a high school."

Jenny gave Tara a smile, "Well, there is a first time for everything, Tara, and this time it's going to be atop the mouth of hell."

"Joy," Tara snarked slightly.

Jenny got into the car and started it, "See? You've been spending enough time around Xander for his smart mouth to rub up… I mean off on you."

Tara gave her a look as she tried to not blush from the Freudian slip, "And you know this for a fact?"

Jenny shook her head even as she almost-silently muttered, "I wish."

Unfortunately, it wasn't silent as Tara turned to her, "You too? What is it with him? Does he have some kind of magical spell on him that attracts women?"

Jenny did her best to control her blush, "Some could say that, but I personally think it has to do with the aura of protectiveness that he extrudes."

To the side, Jenny saw Tara nod, "Yes, he does seem to make me feel safe, as I suspect he makes us all feel, but…"

Jenny shook her head, "He's too young for me, Tara – as nice as it would be, I do believe I'll just leave him with Faith." That issue safely averted, the concentrated on driving to the school for several minutes before she asked, "So, how did you talk with Alexander go?"

She saw Tara stiffen slightly in her seat, "I'd rather not talk about it."

She looked over at Tara and arched an eyebrow, "What did the boy do now? Honestly, I can't leave him alone for a second…"

Tara sighed and Jenny knew that her plan had worked, "Xander didn't do anything, Jenny, he just gave me some information that is… disturbing."

The urge to make the obvious joke was too much, "Something disturbing from Xander – wow, that's unheard of." Jenny thought it would have gotten a smile out of the Immortal woman, but instead it got her a glare that made her aware that she was speaking to an elder, "Alright, no joking – what did he say?"

Tara was quiet for a moment before she uttered, "Prophecy."

Jenny pulled the car to a stop at a stop sign and looked over, "What?"

Tara didn't look over at her, "What Faith and I did… it was part of a prophecy amongst Immortals, only the third element wasn't there to complete it."

Jenny blinked at this revelation, "Xander… but he loathes prophecy. Why would he not fight this?"

Tara looked over at her and Jenny knew the next words were going to be important, "With all three of us, we shall begat a child, Jenny, something technically impossible for Immortals." Tara looked down at her hands and Jenny could feel a new aura of sorrow, "I've held and raised many children, Jenny, but never one of my own. I'm … scared."

Even as they came to the school, Jenny's brain went on auto-pilot – a child; Tara, Xander, Faith and a child… no wonder none of them were really in the right frame of mind, "Tara… no, never mind. We'll talk about this later – we have a meeting to get to."

They got out of the car and made their way to the library, Tara obviously feeling Xander's presence as they got there; when Jenny reached the door, she opened it slightly and motioned Tara in as Xander and Faith were talking, but when Tara made to go forwards, Jenny pushed the older Immortal in and then shut the door quickly behind her, locking it from the outside.

From the other side of the door, she hear an outraged, if slightly offended, huff from Tara and Jenny felt compelled to say, "Sorry, Tara, but youth and vigilance has beaten age and treachery this time." With that and a smile, Jenny turned and walked off – if what Tara said was true, there was a nursery to design and she was already behind schedule.

(Inside the Library)

Faith watched as Tara stalked in front of the door like a bit, ANGRY tiger, snarling slightly even as she noticed that Xander had placed himself between her and Tara, "Tare? Tiger?"

Tara snapped her head over to the side and snarled, "WHAT!"

Faith felt like crapping her pants as she stumbled back, "N-nothing." Jesus, the Wicked Wicca was SERIOUSLY ticked – for the first time, Faith found herself not wanting to be Jenny when Tare got her hands on the older woman.

"Tara? Don't be mad, okay? Jenny told me she was going to do this and I signed off on it," Xand said to the angry witch, his tone schooled to calm the angry woman down as his hands were held up in a sign of peace, but Faith knew what he was doing. He'd heal (probably), but if Tare went after Jenny, that'd be another story.

Faith watched as Tara's face screwed up for a moment in anger and then felt the power in the room slowly start to fade away, "Very well, Xander." Tara then shivered and Faith was sure she saw the witch's nipples were hard, "What is this place? The power here is… dark, EVIL."

Xand walked over and led Tare over to where they were and sat her down, "Right over there, a few feet down, is the Hellmouth, Tara." Tara instantly tried to get out of the chair and away, but Xander held her in place, "It takes a little while, but you get used to it." Faith, to emphasize this point, sat down into Tara's lap, wiggling a little as she did, and letting X go on, "Now, Tara, we're all going to sit here and talk until we resolve what's wrong-"

Faith chipped in, "Or we decide to do the nasty right here on the floor." Both older Immortals looked at her, "What?"

Tara shook her head first, "There is nothing to talk about, Xander – it is prophecy, and from what you have told me, it is actually a very good one for us to follow through on."

Xand, for his part, sounded very determined, "Something I won't do if it makes you uncomfortable, Tara, you or Faith."

Faith felt a smile creep up to her lips at the emotion behind Xander's words – for not the first time, she felt giddy at the thought that, for once, a guy loved her not just for her body, or her power, but for her and he actually gave a damn about what she thought and felt.

Tare, apparently, felt the same way with the she turned red from the neck up, "Xander…"

"I'm serious, Tara – if you think this is too much, we'll back off and figure out something else." Xander was now behind and off to the side of Tare, just barely in her Slayer-enhanced peripheral vision, but Faith could tell that he was being dead serious; it was sweet, really.

Tara smiled at Xand and reached over, kissing him on the forehead, "Xander, you're a real sweetie, but let Prophecy take its course. If it is going to happen, let it happen."

For Xander's part, he was feeling VERY relieved at this point – okay, so the whole situation was still fucked up, even from his prospective, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been, "Okay, I can deal with that. Faith?"

Faith looked at him from Tara's lap and grinned, "Yeah… Sweetie?"

He gave her a look, "Don't make me spank you, Faith."

She grinned at him in a sultry way and licked her lips, "Only if I get to be bare-assed when you do it with your hands, stud."

Tara looked down at him, a slight smile on her face as she said, "You won't win with her, Xander."

He mock-pouted, "Alright, I'll concede to it." He then looked up at Faith and grinned, "I'll just have to put it on your tab." Faith gave him a slightly worried look as he looked up at Tara again, "So, Jenny brought you here?"

Tara nodded slightly as she pursed her lips, "I need to get even with her. She may have youth and vigilance, but I have age and treachery."

Xander grinned, "Need any help?"

(One week later – Jenny's House)

Jenny looked over at Willow, who was concentrating, and then looked over at Tara, who had somehow conned Xander into moving her back into his house, "Am I really that bad of a housemate, Tara?"

Tara smiled at her as she looked up from her Western Civilization book, "No, Jenny, you're not, but with Faith, Xander and I having semi-worked things out, its better that I'm with them."

Jenny waited for more, but Tara just looked back down and went back to studying, so Jenny was forced to look over at Willow, whose eyes were open now, "Do you know how this happened, Willow?"

The red-haired magic-adept merely shrugged her shoulders, "Knowing Xander, it could have ranged from his infamous puppy-dog eyes to bribery of the sugary kind." Willow then smiled, "That's how he got me to wear that temporary tattoo of a frog back when we were kids."

Jenny arched her eyebrow at the red-head, knowing her legendary fear of frogs and 'creepy crawlies', "Which one did he use?"

"Both," Willow said promptly, her smile not fading. "It's a potent combination." Willow's smile then faded, "The fact that he snuck it on me and, to this day, will probably say Jesse did it; that's a lie, of course, given that Jesse knew I knew where his stash of dirty magazines were and what I'd do to them, he'd never prank me." Jenny watched as Willow schooled her features into a very Oz-like mask before saying, "Jesse was a big poopyhead about that, pranking me like he used to, but nobody beat Xander when it came to pranks."

"Of course," Xander suddenly said from behind her, making Jenny screech a little and jump, "the fact that you can't PROVE that is another issue all together." Jenny looked at the Immortal, seeing the smug look on his face as he tipped an imaginary hat towards them all even as her heart slowed down from the jolt it had taken.

Once she had her breath back, and her heart had stopped racing, Jenny glared at him properly, "How did you get in here?"

He gave her a grin that, for an instant, made her knees weak before they solidified again, "The front door, actually. You really should remember to lock your doors, Jenny – it's dangerous after dark here in Sunnydale." With one last grin, he looked over at Tara, whom Jenny could see was smiling at something, "Ready, gorgeous?"

Tara arched an eyebrow at him, a grin playing on her lips, one that made Jenny think that something was up… and not her temperature, "What would Faith say if she heard you call me that?"

Xander looked up for a moment and Jenny felt a smile tug at her lips as she saw him comically tap his finger to his lips before answering, "Probably something rather lewd, rather tactless and sexually suggestive, but true, none the less."

Jenny blinked at this and looked at Tara, who was smiling slightly, "Yes, she probably would. Do you think she'll ever follow up on that… promise she made us? About how she wanted you, me and her to-" Tara was cut off by a strangled squeak from Willow, who was now blushing a bright, bright red, and Tara looked at the magical adept with a frown, "Are you okay, Willow?"

Jenny, tugging at her own collar, coughed slightly, "Given her penchant for an overactive imagination… I would say 'no' is a good answer, Tara." She then looked at Xander, who was looking a bit full of himself, and decided to deflate his ego a little, "So, you, Tara, and Faith… Xander, I'm hurt that you didn't ask me to join in to turn your three-way into an orgy." She sidled up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, a smile on her face, "You know, you and I alone could be great together, but adding in Tara and Faith… it would be magical."

In the past, she could have gotten a blush to match Willow, maybe even surpass it, and sputtering, lots of sputtering on the level that Rupert would have been proud of, but this time Jenny was pleasantly surprised when she felt Xander's arms go around her body and pull her closer, his lips next to her ears, "Are you sure you want that, Jenny? When Faith and I get going, we don't stop until one or both of us drop from exhaustion." Jenny felt her heart begin to race as her mind began to supply images to his words, but he wasn't done, "And Tara… she's a wild-cat, someone that Faith could never hope to match. And there's this thing that she does with her tongue…"

Jenny felt herself shaking in his grasp even as the words stoked her lust-addled mind into a fury that she hadn't felt in a LONG time – she had to admit to herself that right now, if Willow and Tara hadn't been there, she'd be hard-pressed to not throw Xander to the ground and have her way with him, but if he kept this up, she might be inclined to ask them to join in, "Xander…"

"Yes, Jenny?" She felt him pull away and looked up, seeing the gentle look on his face even as she felt heat on her back from what she assumed was Willow ready to spontaneously combust.

Before she could say anything, Tara spoke, "Let's go, Xander. It's Faith's night to cook and you know what that means."

"You're right, Tare – Gino's pizza, cola and ice cream, lots of it, too," Xander said suddenly, pulling away from her even more and making her want to scream.

NO! This could NOT be happening! He'd gotten her this worked up, this quickly and now… he was LEAVING? "Xander…"

He looked back at her with that damned boyish grin of his and winked, "I'll be back later to pick up the rest of Tara's stuff, Jenny. Later, you too, Wills." With that, Xander and Tara left the house and Jenny was sure that she was going to go insane!

From behind her, though, she heard Willow mumble, "What are you playing at, Xander?" Sadly, though, she was too turned-on to care and excused herself.

(Xander's House)

"You realize you're going to hell for that, right, stud?" Xander looked over at Faith, who had half of a slice of pizza crammed into her mouth, and his girlfriend went on, "From what Tare tells me, you had Jen so turned on she was drippin' and ya left her hanging."

Now, under normal circumstances, nobody would have been able to understand what Faith said, as it sounded like, "Vu vealze ur gng ta 'ell f'r tfat, vight, stufd? Ffrum fat Fare els fe, vu 'ad Fen fo frned on fe fas frippin' an fa lef fer hangin'." Fortunately, he had been practicing his 'Faith-with-mouth-full-of-food'-ese as of late and understood what Tara, given her blank look, did not.

"I may be going to hell for that, Faith, but at least I'll go with one in the 'win' column against Jenny… and since when have you been watching Jenny, Tara?" He looked at the blonde Wicca, who was drinking her soda, "Is there something you want to tell us?"

Tara gave him a slightly naughty grin, "It's not like I'm the only one in this room who thinks that Jenny's sexy, Xander. In fact, I think we're all in agreement on that."

Xander looked at Faith, who nodded, and then back at Tara, "Okay, you've got us there..."

Faith swallowed the pizza in her mouth and, after a gulp of soda, said, "You know she's gonna get even, right?" She followed this with a thunderous belch, smirking, "'Scuse me."

"'Scuse pig," he and Tara both quoted immediately, getting a chuckle out of Faith before he went on. "Oh, I don't doubt that she's going to try and get even, Faith, but somehow I don't think it'll be any time soon given the school schedule we have coming up." He took once last slice of pizza and sighed, "Well, I hate to eat and run, but Buffy and I have patrol tonight with Willow and Oz. Later, ladies."

After a quick stopover in his minor armory to pick up his sword and some typical vamp slaying stuff, he was off at a trot to meet up with the others, wondering just why it was that he felt a shiver go up and down his spine as he left the front door.

(Living Room)

"So, do you think we should let him think that we're not going to rat him out to Jenny, Faith?"

Faith smirked at her, "Sure we should, Tiger. After all, we girls gotta stick together." She reached over to the phone and dialed Jenny's number, "Jen? Faith. Wanna get even with boytoy?"

(University Library – basement)

"So, tell me again WHY I'm being asked here tonight?" Buffy was, once again, lamenting her lot in life verbally and it was starting to wear thin, "I have a date with this guy, Parker Abrams-"

Giles finally had enough of it as he put a book down somewhat forcibly, "Buffy, do be quiet and finish arranging the training weapons while we try and map out the rest of the new patrol routes." Xander had to admit that, as of late, Giles had been a little more up front with Buffy, not letting her run so roughshod over him, and while occasionally it seemed a bit… rude, Xander knew that unless you told Buffy EXACTLY what you wanted, the results tended to be mixed.

Buffy, for her part, only sulked and finished moving the weapons racks where Giles had told her to put them – it wasn't fair! She had a life and a date!

After about ten more minutes, Giles called them over, "Xander, as Willow is with Oz during his… indisposed moments, you and Buffy will be patrolling this quadrant of the map." Giles circled four cemeteries and a small business area, "Do try and be careful."

Buffy snorted, "He's Immortal, what does he have to worry about?"

Xander glared at her for a moment, "Stop acting like a little girl, Buffy; there will be other dates with guys who go through Freshman girls like socks."

She looked up at him oddly, "What? That's only a rumor!"

Xander rolled his eyes at her, "He's hit on Tara a dozen times, slept with no less than seven other girls and is now set on you… and that's this semester, Buffy."

She blinked at this but then shook her head, "No, it's only a rumor. I don't date guys like that."

Xander just sighed at her in that 'I'm not sure why I even bothered' kind of way that he seemed to have picked up from Giles and then turned to the Watcher, "Anything else, G-man?"

"Don't call me that, Xander, and no, nothing else." As soon as Giles said that, she was on her feet and heading for the door, but Giles wasn't done, "But do be sure to check in on Oz and Willow."

Buffy turned and growled at Giles for a moment, knowing that he knew that she was hoping to at least salvage her date with Parker, but then turned and stormed out of the room –as she left, though, she heard Giles say to Xander, "And if you run across this Parker prat, introduce him to his spleen."

(Later)

"So, what's it like?"

"What's what like, Buffy?"

"Chopping off someone's head and getting that big lightning storm?"

He looked at her oddly, "It's taken you almost a year and a half to get around to asking me this… why?"

Buffy just shrugged as she sat on the gravestone, waiting for the newbie to rise, "Dunno, just never did. So?"

Xander just shrugged at her as he spun his sword, point in the ground, around in a circle, "Just like decapitating a demon, but at the end there's an electrocution that leaves you either feral, famished or horny."

Buffy felt the heat race to her cheeks even as she watched the ground grow more and more disturbed, the vamp obviously pushing its way up, "Okay, so what is it like being Immortal, then? I mean, the whole 'I'll never get older' kind of thing?"

The vampire burst out of the ground but was immediately decapitated by Xander, "It's a rush at first, but after a while it starts to really suck."

Buffy heard this but was busy pouting, "That was my vamp."

"Was not."

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!" Buffy growled at him one last time and then stomped off, in the general direction of where Willow had Oz chained up – Xander, for his part, could SEE the steam pouring out of her ears and nose as she did so and sighed.

"Jeeze, must be that time of the month…"

The stake that was flung in his general direction told him that she had, indeed, heard his statement…

(Later)

"You KNOW better than to steal Buffy's vamps during this week of the month, Xander," Willow berated him even as Oz snoozed in wolf-form (snored, actually), he sharpened a stake and Buffy gorged herself on chocolatey goodness. "She's a real bitch about it."

Xander nodded even as Buffy looked up from her chocolate bar with a growl before going back to it, "True. So, Wills, how's the magic going?"

Willow sighed and leaned back against him, "It's not. Jenny and Tara both say that I need to get in touch with my 'true self' in order to harness magic correctly, that I've been doing it the wrong way all this time, and to do that I have to give up coffee!"

Xander arched an eyebrow at her, "So, we're safe from Caffinated!Willow for a while, then?" The growl she sent him told Xander he was on VERY thin ice, so he treaded lightly, "How're things with Oz? He stop acting all spacey as of late?"

Willow stopped growling at him and nodded, "It was a female werewolf who was trying to seduce him." Xander growled at this, an act that made Oz's wolf ears perk up a bit, but Willow reached over and smacked him on the end of the nose, "Bad Xander! It wasn't his fault."

Xander rubbed his offended nose, "He's male, Wills – by your woman rules, OF COURSE it's his fault. And, damn it, I'm not a dog, so no smacking me on the nose."

"Just be glad I didn't have a rolled up newspaper," Willow said to him, eliciting a slight shiver out of Oz's slumbering wolf form. "Now, how are things with you, Tara and Faith?"

He shrugged, "Things are okay – we got one up on Jenny today, well, Tara and I did, and it's not all squicksom for us." He then grinned, "Though we've been planning to have an orgy that you're welcome to join in on…"

Willow blushed a bright red and smacked him, again, on the end of the nose, "Xander!"

Xander glared at her, "Keep this up and Oz gets pictures and stories of when we were younger, especially the ones that have you in striped socks, a skirt and with pigtails."

She stopped blushing and paled, "You wouldn't."

He grinned at her – Willow Longstocking would see the light of day again…

His line of thought was interrupted by a smack on the back of the head and Buffy sitting down next to them, chocolate around her mouth and, somehow, on the end of her nose, "No teasing Willow, Xander." Willow smiled brightly at the Slayer and Buffy went on, "That's my job." His response was to bring up his secret weapon, something he'd been storing up for a while now, a single-use camera, and he snapped a picture of Buffy's face at close range before dancing out of the way of her grasping hands and ignoring her outraged squeals.

Soon, with Willow and Buffy chasing him out in the night-darkened graveyard, only Oz's snores filled the small tomb.

(Xander's house)

Tara looked at the Slayer and Romany woman in trepidation as they both laughed evilly over the items that Jenny had brought, and for a moment, she actually felt sorry for Xander when he got back home.

Faith stopped laughing and threw her an object wrapped in black silk, "This one's yours, Tiger."

Tara blinked and pulled the silk off, a smile spreading across her lips as she did – she didn't feel sorry for Xander anymore, not one bit. Soon, very soon, they would have their revenge on Xander…

(Graveyard)

Xander pouted at Buffy and Willow both took turns smashing his camera with large pieces of stone even as Oz slept fitfully, his legs twitching slightly as he appeared to be dreaming about chasing something. What a picture that would have made…

Buffy smiled at him sweetly, some of the chocolate still around her mouth, as she picked up the pieces of the camera and handed them back to him, "Here you go, Xander."

He looked mournfully down at the pile of broken plastic, but then looked up with a smile, "You broke my camera, Buff – I may have to spank you for that."

Buffy didn't blush at this, instead she just leaned forwards and smiled, "How do you know that I wouldn't like that, Xander?"

Remembering Jenny's exact same words, he grinned back at her, "Oh, I don't know; would you let me use my bare hand? And, more importantly, are you clothed or unclothed?"

THIS got a blush out of Buffy as she jerked back, "Xander!"

He grinned at her as he leaned back, three for three, "Yes?" He quickly ducked a thrown magazine from Willow and a chocolate bar wrapper (one that had been licked clean of all chocolate residue) by Buffy, not losing his grin – yes, this would be a good night to wrack up a bunch of points against the girls.

Willow growled, "Just you wait, Mister – we're going to tell Jenny, Faith and Tara about this and we'll get even."

Xander lost his grin as the girls both began to chuckle evilly – this was not good.

(Several weeks later – January 7th)

To call Xander 'paranoid' was somewhat redundant under normal circumstances – even when he was nipping down to the corner store to get a gallon of milk, he was probably more heavily-armed than most police officers with his sword and a few other odds and ends on top of a handgun, but over the past few weeks, day by day, he had become more and more so to the point that, if a pin dropped, he was diving for cover and looking for any or all of the females in his life.

Now, though, was only one of those times that he actually seemed relaxed; he was in the bathroom, having just finished his morning shower, and he was currently shaving when he realized something (nominally because of the blood on his face) – someone else had used his razor, one which had been freshly-changed the day before, on something other than his face. With a sigh and a shake of his head, he stormed off to the most likely culprit, "Faith!"

Said Slayer stuck her head out of her room, a smile on her face, "Ah, just how I love my name – being shouted by a semi-clothed man." He gave her a glare and she smirked, "What's up, Xand?" She then looked down and grinned, "Besides Not-so-little Xand?"

"You used my razor."

She nodded slowly, "Yeah, and?"

He growled, "You didn't replace the blade – why?"

She gave him a semi-innocent look, "Because if I showed you where I shaved, you wouldn't have minded?"

He rolled his eyes and looked down at her lack of shorts, "You're wearing those sheer, almost transparent, white silk panties that Amanda gave you to tease me with, Faith – it's not that difficult for me to notice, and don't dodge the question."

Faith sighed, "Because Tare needed it after me."

Xander felt his left eyebrow tic just a little as he pulled his hand down over the shaven, and healed, side of his face, "And WHY did Tare need it?"

Faith shrugged, "Why else? She wanted to shave the cat." Faith then grinned at him a she walked out and pulled his towel off, leaving him with only about three quarters of his lower face covered in shaving cream, and nothing else, "If you wanna find out, I'm sure she'd let ya."

Xander grinned a little and pulled her front flush with his body, making SURE to grab that overly-sensitive spot on her lower back…

"Oh, God, Xand…"

…oh yeah, given the way she was groaning, he'd hit it, "Why, Faith, just think – two more days and nights to go until your birthday."

Her dark eyes were filled and overflowing with lust as she ground against him, "Xand, don't make me wait."

He kissed her on the forehead before pulling away, leaving a good bit of shaving cream on her upper face, "Sorry, baby, but you made the date, I'm just sticking by it." With that, he turned, still clad in only in a bit of shaving cream and a razor, and marched to his bathroom even as he heard Tara's door open and her whistle slightly.

"And here I thought it was Faith's birth-" Tara's words were cut off as he shut the door to his bathroom and reached for the last of his blades – yes, just two more days and the massive amounts of UST that had built up between him and Faith over the past month would FINALLY be released…

He looked down at where, when Faith was involved, his brain was stored, "Down boy." With that, he went back to shaving.

Ten minutes later, he was dress, sitting in the kitchen, and drinking a cup of coffee even as Faith and Tara both came down, smiling as they did, which caused Xander's recent paranoia to start to rush back to 'heart-attack' high levels, "Morning, ladies."

"Morning, Xander," they both said in unison, coming over to him, and kissing him, first Tara and then Faith, who practically shoved her tongue down his throat.

Once Faith pulled back, Xander felt his rampaging paranoia go up another notch, "Morning you two."

Tara smiled at him as she got herself a cup of coffee, "So, what's up?"

Faith was on the question before he could say anything, "You mean besides boytoy when he came out of the bathroom?" She turned and wiggled her eyebrow at him, "You just need to remember how to do that in a few days, Xand – I'm gonna need it."

He grinned at her a little, "Well, then I guess this would be a bad time to tell you that I'm going to be out of town, then, right?"

If it were possible for someone to kill another by just a look, Xander was sure that most of his body and a good chunk of the back wall would have been gone from the look that Faith gave him, "Don't you DARE tell me you're not-"

He held up his hands quickly, "I'll be here, Faith! I was just yanking your chain a little."

The reaction was instant as she stopped glaring and smiled bright, making a kissing motion at him before going to get a cup of coffee, "Thanks, stud!"

He looked over at Tara, who looked a little surprised herself, and sighed, "So, you ready to start this wonderful time they call 'Finals'?"

Tara nodded and then sipped her coffee as Faith dumped a half of the sugar bowl into her cup, "Just think, Xander, you're Immortal and will have to do this time and time again."

He growled, "Can you just take my head, then? Wouldn't that be less painful?"

Tara smiled at him as she reached over and patted his cheek, "But Xander, where would be the fun in that?"

(Later – campus quad)

"OhXanderitsgoodtoseeyouIwashopingtoseeyou.TheyfinallyletmehavemycoffeeagainstaferIfoundawaytoconnectbacktoGaiatherightwayand-" Willow's babbling stream of hyper-caffeinated babble was muffled as she buried herself into Xander's chest and, even though Tara knew that her student was human, she had to admit that she was impressed that the little redhead's heart hadn't exploded. Strewn about were four extra large cups, all of them from the Java Pump, and the scent and evidence of chocolate, whipped cream, espresso and syrup that still filled the still air.

She smiled as Xander stroked the back of Willow's head, his hands gliding over her hair as he kissed her on the crown of her head, smiling, "That's my Willow as she was meant to be – artificially perky due to over-consumption of caffeine."

Willow pulled away from him as Oz walked up, "Iamnotperkybecauseofcaffeine!"

Xander shook his head as he kissed the magical adept on her nose, "And as indignant as ever about getting called on it." Willow blushed as Oz wrapped his arms around her, "So, Oz, how is everything?"

Tara tuned out the conversation as they walked their way towards the library – she had been feeling a bit… off for the past few days, as if her connection to the Earth was starting to mutate a little, and she knew that unless she figured out why that was, her magic would soon begin to suffer.

Of course, there was another reason why she could have been losing her connection to the Earth, one that she did not want to consider in that it would mean that a certain Prophecy would soon come to fulfillment; sure, she liked having sex as much as the next woman, but the fact that she was about to have sex with two people, both of whom she lived with, and was about to break a tenant of Immortality and produce a CHILD… it made her shudder slightly. She wasn't what one could call 'mother' material, and Faith thought the same of herself, though as a Slayer, but if by some impossible act that a child was produced from this joining, Tara knew that she would stick with it to the end.

"Hmm, I wonder if Xander will pass out cigars?"

"For passing my Algebra finals? You betcha, Tare." She blushed as Xander answered her unconscious question as the world came back to hr and she saw that they were now at the library. He looked at her and, for a moment, Tara felt like she wanted to rip off his clothes and make him hers, "Something wrong, Tara?"

She shook her head to clear the feeling she was having and managed to get out, "No, not at all, just… day dreaming."

Willow and Oz nodded at her, but Xander grinned, "Really? What's her name?"

For a moment Tara blushed, as did Willow, though Oz only arched an eyebrow, but she then smiled at Xander and patted him on the cheek, "First of all, who said it was a 'she' and secondly… that would be telling." With that, she walked past him and on into the library, confident that she had, once again, gotten one up on Xander.

(Xander's Kitchen – 0900, Faith's Birthday)

Xander stirred his coffee a bit as he thought back over the past few days – he'd been really in and out of it since Finals started, more so than normal, and while it was occasionally good for a laugh, he couldn't explain why it was he was feeling so… well, out of it.

He scratched his leg through his shorts and took a drink from his coffee – Faith was still asleep upstairs, as was Tara, and in about an hour they'd both wake up and Faith's all-day birthday part would start.

Xander then smirked and muttered, "Of course, the all-night party will then begin." Faith had been rather adamant on what she wanted for that night and Xander knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that if she didn't kill him from their efforts that night, it wouldn't be for their mutual lack of trying.

The sound of the key hitting the lock jerked him out of his reverie and he looked in time to see Jenny entering the doorway, "Hey, Jenny."

She grinned back at him, "Xander. What's up?"

He shrugged, "Only you and me, apparently. Coffee?"

She smiled at him bigger this time, "Bless you, young man – you have saved what is left of my sanity from shopping for Faith by mentioning the presence of the Great Bean."

He chuckled at that, getting up to fix her a cup of coffee, "You know, if anyone but me ever figures out that you're a bigger coffee-addict than Willow, they're going to send you to Coffee Drinkers Anonymous, right?"

She took the offered cup, black, no sugar or cream, and inhaled the aroma, "Then I will have to persuade you to not tell them, then."

He said nothing in return and, instead, went back to drinking his coffee as Jenny went off to the dining room to do something. Honestly, it was a good day to-

PFFT!

Xander jerked as he felt something sharp hit him in the neck and, as he reached up to grab it, the world began to spin – it was a dark… no, a dart… with feather… oh, nice little… feather… tranquilizers… sleepy time…

From her point in the dining room, Jenny lowered the pistol that she had loaded with darts for a moment before she fired four more into Xander after his head hit the table and he began to snore. She put it down and grabbed the small two-way radio she had in her purse, "He's down, girls – Vengeance Is Ours."

(Later)

Was it cold in the room, or was it just him?

That was the first thought that came to mind as the rather chilly air, a mind that was still a little muddled and fuzzy over just HOW he had gotten wherever he was… and why was it so damned cold?

"Hello, Xander." He felt something being removed from his eyes and was greeted by the sight of a smiling Jenny, her face made up and a wicked gleam in her eyes.

After a few attempts, he managed to get out, "Hi."

She smiled a bit as he felt something move across his chest, "Comfy?"

He blinked a few times and tried to reach for whatever was moving, but found his hands were tied… with what appeared to be silk scarves, to the bedposts. Two experimental moves of his legs told him that they were similarly bound, "A little tied up at the moment."

Jenny giggled a bit before he felt the thing moving on his stomach stop and pull away, poking something onto the end of his nose, "You know, Xander, a woman can be spoiled by your sense of humor."

He crossed his eyes to get a good look at the thing tapping the tip of his nose and felt his heart drop to his… well, spine in this case when he recognized it – a riding crop, "Um… not to be rude, but why do you have a riding crop in your hands, Jenny?"

She pulled away with a smile, "Because it goes with the rest of my outfit."

Xander looked at her outfit and felt his mouth go dry – Jenny had on what, at best, could be described as a softer version of a dominatrix outfit; she wore a tight black leather corset that lifted, yet separated, her breasts, which were semi-exposed by the leather being substituted for lace in that point.

Jenny took his chin between her fingers and made him look up at her face, "Now, now, Xander, you know better than to stare." She straddled him, making sure to drag her nylon-encased legs over as much of his exposed skin as possible before seating herself on his lower abdomen, "Now, are we comfortable?"

Xander shook his head, "No, not really."

Jenny smiled, "Good. After all," she went on, seeing his pained look, "You've been a naughty boy."

Xander shook his head again in a futile hope to clear it, "You know, I think I've had this dream before…" He winced as she smacked him on the chest with her crop, looking down at him with an imperious look, "I'm not really into B and D, Jenny, let alone being teased like this, and this is Faith's night – let me go."

"Who said that this was my idea, Xander?" Jenny leaned down and, with infinite care, turned his head towards the door as she tapped something that let out a crystalline chime, "Meet my co-conspirators."

The door opened slowly and the two goddesses who walked in made Xander hope and pray that this wasn't another one of his dreams – Faith was first, dressed much the same as Jenny was, only her ensemble was in white, her dark hair teased out slightly and very little in the way of makeup on her face, and a wicked grin was on her face as she popped her riding crop against her thigh lightly, "Hiya, stud – hope you're ready, 'cause it's going to be a LONG night."

"Don't tease him too much, Faith," said the second goddess, Tara, her lips drawn back into a smirk, "that's my job." Tara, thankfully (though a part of his mind protested that idea) was not dressed in leather, but instead her body was swathed in silk, nice, blue silk that reminded him of a clear summer's day, only it clung to her body in ways that made him ache. A simple bra, panties and stockings number, she did not carry a crop with her, but instead it was a large, fluffy feather, which she traced through the air with a serene smile on her lips as she stopped, pausing only to toss back her hair, which was braided into a single tail, "Now, Xander, I know you liked teasing Jenny like you did a few weeks ago, but you were a BAD boy doing that…" Xander whimpered slightly as both Tara and Faith crawled onto the bed, Faith on the left, Tara on the right, but Tara wasn't done, "And I know I enjoyed it."

"Problem is, Xand, that Jen here has a wicked nasty streak in her." Faith leaned down and kissed him on his left pectoral muscle before pulling back and tracing her crop around his nipple, "I asked her if she wanted to get even and she came up with this… with our blessings, of course."

Xander shook his head slightly as he felt that fog begin to claim it again, but saw for a second that Tara, too, appeared to be a little off as Jenny smiled, "Now, Xander, you DO know the old rules, right? 'Do unto others…'?"

He nodded slowly as he felt her grind herself back onto his straining member, "Some… something's wrong."

Faith shook her head as Tara traced a feather over his legs, leaning down to whisper into his ear, "No, stud… everything's JUST right." The clocks took that point to chime at six, which signaled that, indeed, Faith was officially eighteen, which caused her to smile, "Now, Xand… let… let's party…" She looked down at him with an odd look even as he felt the feather stop moving and saw Tara look at him the same way… why was it getting so hard to think?

Soon, though, there was no thinking needed as instinct took over…

(Next morning)

The first thing that came to Jenny's mind as she swam towards consciousness was that she wasn't alone in bed – in fact, if she wasn't mistaken, Xander was behind her, his nose buried in her hair, and Tara was spooned against her front… and they were all naked. This brought a smile to her lips – her plan had worked, sort of, in that while she had wanted to TEASE Xander before he and Faith got to it, she and Tara, apparently, had also gotten in on the festivities. Oh well, she thought as she carefully extracted herself from between the two Immortals, who quickly closed the gap between them, no harm in that – it'd been a long while since she'd been in a single-man orgy…

Once out of the bed, Jenny slowly pulled on a robe as her muscles protested her movement – Faith and Xander, while young, more than made up for that in vigor while Tara… by the Goddess, that woman was insatiable. Who would have guessed that the blonde-haired Immortal would have been so domineering in bed…?

Walking around the flung pieces of leather and silk, Jenny made her way to the bathroom and, after a few minutes, felt only slightly less sore with an empty bladder and mint-fresh breath, enough so that she was able to make her way down the stairs and to the kitchen in order to get the coffee pot going. In all of this, she had been hard-pressed to keep a rather large smile off of her lips, but that smile instantly vanished when she heard an unfamiliar sound fill the air.

A baby. More to the point, if the cries were interoperated correctly, an upset baby.

The baby was wrapped in one of the large, fluffy green towels that Xander loved, pink and tiny, rather upset at the fact that she (confirmed with a quick check under the towel) was alone, hungry and messy. Jenny took one look at it and felt her heart begin to melt at the mere sight as she reached over and pulled the baby out of the messy towel, cooing slightly in order to quiet it, and then made her way up the stairs – yes, this was going to be QUITE the eye-opener to the others…

(Ten minutes later)

Xander looked over at Tara, who was staring at the baby girl in some kind of awed trance before looking over at Faith, who was staring at the same baby with a rather large level of trepidation before he sighed and sat down onto the couch – he wasn't ready to be a dad, on ANY level… not after the way he had been reared… but the baby girl was his, she had to be with those ears and feet…

He accepted the mug of coffee that Jenny handed to him as she sat down next to him, "How does it feel? You have a daughter."

"And me without the cigars," he managed to quip weakly. He carefully put the shaking cup of coffee down before he buried his face into his hands, "I'm scared, Jenny."

"Why?"

He gave her a look, "You've heard about Tony Harris, you've read his police files… and he raised me. What the hell do I know about raising kids? What kind of a dad am I going to be?"

Jenny just shrugged and sipped her coffee, "The best one you can be, Xander. Look at Faith – she has a past much like yours, and she's dealing with this a bit better than you."

"Because she knew she COULD have kids, Jen," he pointed out. "That baby is the fulfillment of a prophecy and as much as I hate it…" he sighed and stood up, running his hands through his hair before walking over to where Tara was touching the now-quiet baby, "I'm not sure if I can handle this."

Tara looked up at him and she smiled a little, "Xander, I think we can handle this." She looked back down and tickled the baby's tummy, which got the little girl's eyes to open, "But we need to name her. What do you think, Xander?" She waited for a few seconds and then looked up, "Xander?" She could see his eyes boring into the green eyes of the little baby and, for a second, she could swear his eyes were glowing a little, "Xander? Are you okay?"

"Cub." She watched with some level of trepidation as Xander slowly knelt down and looked into the baby's eyes – HER baby's eyes… and then sniffed her a few times, "Cub."

"Ain't namin' her that, stud," Faith chipped in weakly as she joined them. Tara could see a few tears gathering in the eyes of the dark-haired Slayer as she began to smile, "I think she looks like a 'Hope'."

"We're NOT using your middle name, Faith," Jenny said as she also walked over, her eyes a mystery. "We could use my mother's middle name, though – she looks like a 'Dawn'."

Tara smiled a little, liking the name a lot, "Dawn… I like that." She looked down at the baby, who was staring intently at Xander, "What do you think, honey? Do you like 'Dawn'?" The baby gave a slight noise at it, and Tara nodded, "It's settled, then – Dawn." She then frowned and took another sniff of the air, wrinkling her nose, "And, as you seem so enamored with her, Xander, you get to go get your pants and wallet and go get her some diapers, not to mention some formula."

Faith nodded quickly, "And he gets to change the squirt first, too." She waved her hand in front of her nose quickly, "Man, that's rank."

Jenny watched Xander, though, as he peered at the baby some more and smiled – only a father's love could possibly hold up against a gassy infant.

(Later)

Dawn Hope Harris slept soundly in a converted sock drawer as Faith, Jenny and Tara were joined by Joyce in looking for proper baby things, Willow and Buffy were both making doe eyes at the little tyke while Giles had Xander off to the side, speaking to him quietly about some of the things he could expect about having a child in the house (lack of sleep, odd hours, smelly nappies… quite like many teenagers, in Giles' opinion, an opinion that got him glared at by both Slayers, Willow and Xander), but inside he was sure that, regardless of the years and bumps ahead, that this group of children and Immortals would indeed raise the little girl as well as they could.

"Eww!" He looked over at Buffy, whom had jerked back and was holding her nose, "Xander, she just pooted!"

Xander sighed at the Slayer, "Babies do that, Buffy, it's a balance to the whole cute factor they have."

Buffy glared at Xander, "Well, change her!"

Xander rolled his eyes, "Oh, is the big, bad Slayer scared of what she might find in the diapers?"

"She may not be," Willow chipped in as the ladies all looked up from the table to watch the proceedings, "but I am. Please Xander?" Willow turned on Xander, in Giles' educated opinion, one of the most deadly weapons in a woman's arsenal – 'the eyes', "Change her?"

Xander, though, stood resolute, "Nope – you find it, you change it. Besides, if you two are going to ever want to watch her, you'll have to know how to change my little Dawn-Patrol."

Buffy glared at Xander and Giles knew that Xander had her in a trap… and Buffy knew it, "Fine. Just show me what to do."

As Xander, Willow and Buffy all went off to change Dawn, Giles found himself drawn to the other ladies, all of them pouring over an ever-growing list of things that Xander was going to be buying for the baby, a list that stopped growing as Buffy and Willow were both heard shrieking, "Ewwww!"

Faith snorted, "I swear that kid's gonna be taken by the military as a weapon or something."

Tara just sat there with a motherly glow for a moment, leafing through a catalogue that Joyce had brought over, "You're only saying that because she peed on you, Faith."

Joyce chuckled, "No worse than Buffy when she was a baby, though she always did it to me and not Hank." Joyce then frowned, "Exactly who is going to buy all of this stuff, though?"

Faith and Tara were joined by Jenny as they chimed in, "Xander, he's the millionaire." Jenny then put in, "Though my family WILL be putting wards around the crib – it's traditional in the Clans."

Giles looked at Jenny, "You… you were in on this?"

Jenny shrugged at him, "Not at first, I was just going to tease him, but… well, I joined in. She has my nose, though."

Giles sighed, "Oh good Lord, that boy has the most infernal knack…" Giles went quiet as he noticed that Joyce was looking at him primly, "Yes?"

"Rupert, would NOW be a good time to tell you I'm pregnant?"

Giles blinked once, twice, and then a third time before he managed to say, "Oh my," and passed out.

AN: Alright, peoples, that's it - FINALLY! (does the happy dance) So, what do you think? Reviews, please...


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